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Man gets 5 yrs. for hacking niece’s hand with machete
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Posted on Feb 27 2012
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Reporter
A 61-year-old man who hacked his niece’s left hand with a machete at her residence in As Lito will be spending the next five years in prison.
Superior Court associate judge David A. Wiseman sentenced Bernardo Toss Sebangiol to 10 years in prison, all suspended except for five years without parole, for aggravated assault and battery.
Sebangiol was given credit for the 12 months and 12 days he has already served in jail. He will complete serving his sentence on Dec. 10, 2016. After that he will be placed on supervised probation for five years.
Sebangiol pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and battery on Wednesday as part of a plea bargain. His counsel is chief public defender Adam Hardwicke.
In his written order issued Friday, Wiseman said he “reluctantly” accepts the plea agreement after considering the facts of the case and the recommendations of counsel.
“The government presented mitigating circumstances in this matter that the court considered in accepting this plea agreement, in particular the unavailability of the victim and the victim’s recovery,” Wiseman said.
The victim was confined at the Commonwealth Health Center as her left hand was severely cut.
The judge said that a sentence of five years without parole, the equivalent of a 15-year sentence with parole, is appropriate.
Wiseman ordered Sebangiol to pay a $5,000 fine, but allowed him to pay only $2,500 if he pays the fine within two years of his release from prison.
He was also required to pay restitution to the victim in an amount to be determined by the court, a $100 court assessment fee, plus probation fee.
Sebangiol will not be allowed to consume any alcoholic drinks during his probation and required to report to the Community Guidance Center to undergo anger management counseling and any other recommended counseling.
Police investigation showed that Sebangiol got angry when his niece told him to wash his hands. He grabbed a machete from the kitchen and struck her left hand.
