Man gets 4 mos. for beating wife, resisting arrest

A man accused of beating up his wife and threatening to kill her with a machete has been sentenced to four months in prison.

Superior Court associate judge David A. Wiseman on Friday sentenced Rhiner Aguon Tiberke to a total of two years in prison, all suspended except for four months, for assault and battery and resisting arrest. The 36-year-old Tiberke was given credit for the 12 days he has already served in jail.

He will start serving his sentence on Jan. 25, 2012, and is expected to be released on March 13, 2012, after which he will be placed on supervised probation for five years. He will be required to undergo alcohol and drug counseling.

Wiseman prohibited Tiberke from consuming any alcoholic beverages during the first year of his probation. He also ordered the defendant to pay a $500 fine, $25 court assessment fee, and probation fee.

The judge also ordered Tiberke to pay restitution to the victim for the medical fees she incurred as a result of the assault.

Tiberke was supposed to have a jury trial starting yesterday, Monday but on Friday, he pleaded guilty to assault and battery, and resisting arrest.

According to court records, this case first came on for a change of plea hearing on Oct. 19, 2011, during which Tiberke refused to go forward with the change of plea. As a result, Wiseman set the jury trial for Jan. 9, 2012.

On Dec. 27, 2011, assistant public defender Matthew Meyer, counsel for the defendant, told the court that Tiberke now wishes to change his plea in lieu of proceeding to trial.

Wiseman expressed concerns about this request and took the matter under advisement. Three days later, the judge issued an order denying Tiberke’s request for a change of plea hearing without any written motion or exigent circumstances to justify a negotiated change of plea.

On Friday, Meyer told the court that Tiberke would enter a guilty plea. Assistant attorney general Russell Lorfing appeared for the government.

In his written order issued yesterday, Wiseman said that notwithstanding his recent order regarding attorneys filing untimely plea agreements and otherwise disregarding the court orders, and his earlier refusal to accept the untimely plea agreement, “the interests of judicial economy and good cause have resulted in the court accepting this untimely change of plea.”

Wiseman said this plea agreement assures the community that Tiberke is under supervision by being incarcerated and then monitored through the Judiciary and the probation office for an extended time.

Tiberke was arrested in June 2011 after he beat up his wife and threatened her with a machete at their residence in San Vicente.