Father wants to retract guilty plea in daughter’s death

Erica D. Johnson

Thursday, March 4, 2004 | 9 a.m.

The Henderson father who pleaded guilty in the death of his 18-month-old daughter and the neglect of his four other children wants to back out of his plea deal, his attorney said Wednesday.

Demone Tisdale, 21, believes he was pressured to plead guilty by defense attorneys, his lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Robert Amundson, said.

"He believes there was some degree of pressure, and that will be clarified," Amundson said.

Amundson said there also was an error in the plea agreement Tisdale signed. The document stated that the charge of felony child abuse caries a two- to 10-year prison sentence.

The punishment actually is two to 20 years in prison, Amundson said.

If Tisdale is allowed to withdraw his guilty plea, the case will go to trial, Chief Deputy District Attorney Vikie Monroe said.

"The evidence is overwhelming, but you never know what a jury will do," she said, outside court. "Both sides will be presented and it will be up to 12 people to decide."

Tisdale was expected to be sentenced Wednesday on one count of second-degree murder, one count of felony child abuse and neglect and three gross misdemeanor counts of child abuse and neglect.

Sophia Mendoza, 20, Tisdale's live-in girlfriend and the children's mother, will stand trial on identical charges next year.

District Judge Donald Mosley will determine whether he will allow Tisdale to withdraw his plea during a hearing scheduled for March 18.

Clark County judges rarely allow defendants to back out of plea deals, District Attorney David Roger said.

"We have many defendants who suffer from pleader's remorse and petition the court to withdraw their plea," he said. "But that's not sufficient reason for doing so."

In order to withdraw a plea, defendants must prove that a guilty plea was not voluntarily made or that they were coerced into pleading guilty. Defendants also can try to prove their attorneys didn't properly advise them of their rights.

The judge then reviews court transcripts to determine the validity of the defendant's claim, Roger said.

"The burden rests on the defendant to prove the plea was invalid," Roger said.

Tisdale's daughter, Sierra Tisdale, was found dead in the bedroom of the couple's home on Oct. 1, 2002. An autopsy report revealed that she had suffered from malnutrition and dehydration and she had been dead about three days before she was found.

Sierra's twin brother, Jacob, was found vomiting and unresponsive. The couple's three other children -- a 3-year-old, a 2-year-old and a 5-month-old -- also showed signs of severe neglect.

Tisdale pleaded guilty to the charges in January. During that hearing, he maintained that he was unaware of the conditions in which his children were living because he was rarely home.

Tisdale's mother, Irma McKinney, who found the children in the house and called police, said her son didn't know about the children's failing health in part because Mendoza routinely kicked Tisdale out of the house.

Sierra weighed 10 pounds when she was taken to the coroner's office. Jacob Tisdale weighed 12 pounds when he was brought into the emergency room. Most children that age weigh more than twice that amount, prosecutors said.