Probation in stabbing

LIHUE — A man who pleaded no contest to one count of reckless endangering in a September stabbing outside a Hanalei restaurant was sentenced to four years probation in Fifth Circuit Court on Thursday.

“I never intended on hurting anyone,” said Michael Beck, 29. “I certainly did not set out to harm Miles. I’m horrifically sorry for the injuries he sustained and the stress this has put on his family and my family.”

The Sept. 16 altercation resulted in serious injuries to Miles Barsotti, 21, of Kilauea. Beck also sustained injuries during the fight.

Beck said that evening he and his wife were afraid and he was defending himself and his wife.

“It has affected all of our lives forever. I’m truly sorry,” Beck said.

An assault charge was dismissed.

On behalf of the state of Hawaii, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kim Torigoe asked that Beck be incarcerated, receive treatment and complete an anger-management course. The state also asked for a stay-away order.

Beck’s lawyer Myles Breiner requested a deferred acceptance of guilty plea for his client, but based on the court’s interpretation and nature of the injuries Barsotti sustained during the incident, Chief Judge Randal Valenciano said the court could not grant the request.

“I will put Mr. Beck on probation. Probation for four years following special conditions,” Valenciano said.

The court doesn’t have a clear vision as to what happened that night, Valenciano said. There are two versions of the story and the police report doesn’t determine what happened, he said.

Of the two versions, Valenciano said the version Beck and his wife gave to the police department is a more reasonable interpretation of what happened.

“When you look at the Barsotti explanation, there are a lot of, as the police refer, a lot of inconsistencies, a lot of gaps. I don’t know what happened because if Mr. Beck was trying to fight with this group of males then his choice of having his wife as one of his group, unless she had some special skill that I’m not aware of, wouldn’t be a rational choice and so I have a hard time accepting what I call the Barsotti version,” Valenciano said.

Valenciano said he had difficulty justifying incarceration.

According to a previous TGI report, witnesses and Barsotti’s family said the encounter began earlier that day when Barsotti and some friends were talking with Beck’s wife, whom they didn’t know, at a gas station.

They saw that same woman later that night at Tahiti Nui, and witnesses say they think the interaction sparked the fight between Beck, Barsotti and four of Barsotti’s friends.

Barsotti was left with multiple knife wounds to his shoulder, legs and ribs during the fight.

Beck had a knife because he was a cook and was leaving work, Valenciano said.

On Nov. 9, the Fifth Circuit Grand Jury indicted Beck on first- and second-degree assault charges. The indictment alleges that Beck intentionally or knowingly caused serious bodily injury to Barsotti with a dangerous instrument, according to a news release from the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney.

In November, Beck pleaded not guilty and maintained he was the one attacked in the parking lot.

Though Barsotti was not present in the courtroom during the sentencing, he did submit a written victim impact statement and photos to the court.

In a Thursday phone interview with The Garden Island, Paulina Ka‘aumoana, Barsotti’s mother, said she thought the case was poorly handled.

“I think if they would have put together a better case in the beginning it would have gone another way. I really wish he would have gotten a more severe sentencing,” she said.

The sentence doesn’t hold Beck accountable for the attack, she said.

“We just don’t want this to happen again because he’s let off with a slap on the hand,” she said.

Her son’s doing well physically now, his wounds have healed and he’s been attending physical therapy sessions, she said. But emotionally, he’s traumatized from the incident.

“He doesn’t want to face Michael Beck. He doesn’t want to deal with court or any repercussions from the accident,” which is why she said the plea was offered, because he didn’t want to go to court and face him.

The incident has made their family more appreciative of one another, but also more cautious of others, Ka‘aumoana said.

“We live on a very small island and we have people coming and going so we have to be careful of newcomers we don’t know; we don’t know their background,” she said.

As a result of his injuries, Barsotti missed three months of work and he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. With medical bills, Ka‘aumoana said the ordeal has cost the family around $50,000.

“It’s an awful thing to have happened. We just want to get past it. We’re just dealing with a couple more things, a couple more court cases and, hopefully, it will be over and we can move,” she said.

Breiner said he’s feeling good about the sentence, but doesn’t believe his client should have been charged in the first place. He has maintained it was self-defense.

“My feeling is Mr. Beck was a victim of an attack from Mr. Barsotti and his friends,” Breiner said in an interview with TGI.

Since the incident, Beck, who lived in Molooa at the time, had to leave the state due to threats. He no longer lives on Kauai.

“Unfortunately, because of the media, traditional media and social media, it became so dangerous for him,” Breiner said.

One of the eyewitnesses in the case was attacked and also had to leave the state, he said.

A restitution hearing is set for August.

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Bethany Freudenthal, courts, crime and county reporter, can be reached at 652-7891 or bfreudenthal@thegardenisland.com.

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The name of the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in this story was wrong and has been changed to Kim Torigoe.