LIHU‘E — A Kapa‘a man convicted of punching and stabbing a man was sentenced to 18 months jail and felony probation in 5th Circuit Court. On Thursday, Chief Judge Randal Valenciano followed the recommended terms of the plea deal, and
LIHU‘E — A Kapa‘a man convicted of punching and stabbing a man was sentenced to 18 months jail and felony probation in 5th Circuit Court.
On Thursday, Chief Judge Randal Valenciano followed the recommended terms of the plea deal, and sentenced Braven K. Kight to 18 months jail, the maximum amount for a five-year felony probation. Kight was already in custody for nearly a year and will get credit for time served.
Kight, 24, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree assault on Oct. 23, 2012. The class B felony carries a possible 10-year jail sentence.
The state agreed to drop first-and-fourth degree criminal property damage charges, and one count of first-degree unauthorized entry.
According to court statements, the incident occurred on April 8, 2011, when Kight was 22, and followed a car that dropped off his woman friend at her home.
Kight ran up to the vehicle and smashed the driver’s side window, punched the man in the head and then stabbed him with a sharp object at least twice in the rear, left shoulder area.
Court appointed defense attorney James Tagupa asked the court to consider the amount of time that Kight has served. Although he has a record, Tagupa this was Kight’s only felony conviction.
In his statement to the court, Kight said that he has made the best of his time in jail, and that he has apologized to the victim in the case. He said the time away from his daughter has been insufferable.
County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Melinda Mendes said his was clearly an act of rage, and that it could easily have resulted in life-threatening injuries. It was sheer luck that he didn’t kill him, she added.
Mendes said the defendant has a history of violent behavior and that previous felony charges were reduced in plea deals. He has convictions for second-degree assault in 2008 and second-degree terroristic threatening in 2010, resulting in three restraining order violations that same year, she said.
Kight was on probation for those offenses when he committed this attempted assault in 2011, she said.
Judge Valenciano said the history of anger control issues, and although the court recognizes that the defendant has a criminal history, the lack of felony convictions worked to his benefit. However, the judge added that the number of violent offenses magnify the court’s concern that the defendant would again present a violent reaction in situation that was out of his control.
The 18-month jail sentence was in part because the defendant had a previous sentencing and the opportunity of probation for a violent offense. He ordered Kight to take an anger management course and undergo an addiction assessment.
