Attorney: Mother shot herself

Powers retracts claim that she was shot by daughter, teen’s lawyer says

A Crescent City woman who claimed her daughter shot her last week has changed her story, the daughter’s attorney said Friday.

Originally Crescent City resident Diane Powers, 41, told police she was sitting on her couch last Tuesday morning when her 14-year-old daughter shot her in the shoulder.

However, in a taped interview Thursday night to the daughter’s attorney, Jon Alexander, Powers recanted her story and claims that she shot herself by accident.

“She claims that she had taken the gun out to clean it and it accidentally went off,” Alexander said. “She admitted that she had been drinking.”

Alexander said that Powers’ new story was consistent with his own examination of the garment she was wearing at the time of the incident.

“There were powder burns at the entry site that would only be there if the shot was point blank,” Alexander said.

The Del Norte County District Attorney’s office has received a tape recording of the interview but said it couldn’t comment on the details of the case because it’s a juvenile matter.

“If we find out that this is not just a defense, that it actually happened, we will take appropriate action,” District Attorney Mike Riese said. “We would definitely not prosecute somebody that’s not guilty.”

According to Riese, it is a felony to make a false report that leads to the arrest of someone on a felony charge.

“If we find out someone lied on a felony to law enforcement, they have criminal exposure,” he said.

Alexander said Powers claims the reason she told law enforcement that her daughter shot her was because she was in shock after shooting herself.

Powers’ robe has been sent to the California Department of Justice lab in Eureka, but no tests for powder burns have been conducted yet, the district attorney said.

“If it turns out that there were powder burns showing contact, that changes everything,” Riese said.

The juvenile was released Friday evening, but according to the district attorney the charges against her remain.

“For us to charge any type of attempted murder, we have to show intent,” Riese said. “At the time of charging we had such evidence.”

The charge against Alexander’s client of attempted first degree murder with special circumstances could lead to an incarceration of up to 15 years, the attorney said.

Staff writer Nicholas Grube contributed to this report.