Petaluma man gets 50 years for sexual assault, murder-for-hire plot against partner
PETALUMA – A Petaluma man got 50 years in state prison on Thursday for sexual assault and other crimes, according to prosecutors.
Anthony Nelson, 33, pleaded no contest in November to sexual assault, inflicting great bodily injury upon a domestic partner and solicitation to commit murder, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.
Nelson physically and sexually assaulted his domestic partner on multiple occasions in March and April of 2022. Both Nelson and his partner were transient at the time and lived together in a tent in the Steamer Landing area of Petaluma. According to prosecutors, Nelson verbally and physically assaulted the victim and threatened to kill her if she ever left him.
On March 11, 2022, Nelson physically attacked the victim and sexually assaulted her during an argument, strangling her to the point of unconsciousness, prosecutors said. He strangled her again on April 5, 2022, as she attempted to leave the tent, again with enough force to render her unconscious.
Prosecutors said that after Nelson was arrested and awaiting trial, he tried to hire other inmates to murder the woman to prevent her from testifying against him. His attempts to do so were discovered and investigated, leading to his charge of solicitation of murder.
Last November, Nelson pleaded no contest to six felonies and in exchange was given a stipulated sentence of 50 years in prison.