LIHUE — A Lihue woman who stole from Macy’s and then bit the loss control officer who chased her across Kukui Grove was sentenced to a year in jail on Thursday in 5th Circuit Court. Sharilyn Rose Ozonko, 29, said
LIHUE — A Lihue woman who stole from Macy’s and then bit the loss control officer who chased her across Kukui Grove was sentenced to a year in jail on Thursday in 5th Circuit Court.
Sharilyn Rose Ozonko, 29, said she was ashamed and would do her best to never be brought before the court again. She has history of assault, theft and drug charges but prior to this incident she was working and doing well at college.
“I made a mess out of my life,” Ozonko said. “Seeing all this makes me feel ashamed. I just want to be a good person and go back to work and school.”
A 5th Circuit grand jury indicted Ozonko on charges of second-degree robbery and third-degree theft on May 14. She pleaded no contest to an amended count of third-degree assault and third-degree theft, both misdemeanors, on July 14.
County Second Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Vogt said the incident occurred on Jan. 8. Ozonko had left the Macy’s store with a jacket and a pair of jeans. A lost prevention manager followed her out of the store and confronted her at some point in the Kukui Grove center. The defendant then screamed, poured an energy drink on the man’s head and bit him on the arm, Vogt said.
State Deputy Public Defender Samuel Jajich said Ozonko is bright and articulate. She was studying to be an electrician and is a very capable person, he said.
The defendant would do well on probation and as she learns to put past events behind her and continue treatment for a methampheta-mine addiction, she should succeed in life, he added.
“You’re building yourself quite a record,” said Chief Judge Randal Valenciano.
In this matter, the judge said it is one thing to try to run away and it is another to bite someone. The court decided to split the two cases that were part of this sentencing.
Ozonko was given the maximum allowable one year of jail for the misdemeanor charge in this case, and the re-sentencing hearing for a second-degree theft case for losing her probation will be held on Nov. 13.
