Man pleads guilty to shooting wife in Laguna Niguel

A 59-year-old man pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempting to kill his wife in Laguna Niguel and was immediately sentenced to a year in jail -- time he has already served behind bars.

William Robert Roush II pleaded guilty to attempted murder and corporal injury on a spouse, both felonies, and admitted sentencing enhancements for attempted premeditated murder, discharge of a gun causing great bodily injury, causing great bodily injury in a domestic violence attack and the personal use of a firearm.

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Roush attacked his wife Feb. 8, 2022, according to court records.

He was also placed on five years of formal probation during Wednesday's hearing.

In February of last year, his wife wrote a letter to a judge pleading for her husband to be allowed to participate in a mental health program.

The two had been a couple for 31 years and were married for 26, she wrote. She said she was disabled and he was her primary caregiver.

"For awhile, I was completely paralyzed on my right side and was dependent on him for day-to-day care," she wrote. "If I had a seizure, he would get on the ground and comfort me, making sure I didn't hurt myself. He would tell me that his one job was to make me laugh every day and when I would respond with a laugh he would tell me, `My job here is done."'

She said the attack "has been a complete shock to everyone, because it is not reflective of who he is. He has never been abusive. On the contrary, he is the most generous person."

Roush has been diagnosed with ADHD and bipolar disorder and was "sinking into depression" in 2021 as he fruitlessly job-hunted during the pandemic.

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