Man who attacked cop pleads guilty

The man who allegedly attacked a police officer while high on butane fumes pleaded guilty to two counts of assault yesterday.

Daniel Jake Kaipat, 26, changed his initial not guilty plea to guilty yesterday before Superior Court Associate Judge Theresa Kim-Tenorio.

Kaipat pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery, both punishable by a sentence of up to one year in prison. The charge of resisting arrest was dropped.

Kim-Tenorio ordered Kaipat to return to court for a review hearing on Oct. 8.

Kim-Tenorio sentenced Kaipat to two years’ incarceration, one for each count that he pleaded guilty to. The sentence would run concurrent with one another, all suspended except for 90 days. Kaipat was given credit for the time he has already served and is scheduled to complete his sentence on July 8.

After Kaipat is released from the Department of Corrections, he will be placed on probation for three years.

While on probation, Kaipat is subject to substance abuse treatment if recommended by the Office of Adult Probation, he is prohibited from residing within 1,000 feet of the victims involved in the case, his mother and brother, and he must comply with curfew and all CNMI laws.

According to Saipan Tribune archives, Kaipat swung a knife at a Department of Public Safety officer who was trying to disarm him last April 9.

On that day, police responded to a disturbing the peace complaint at the Marine Beach in Kagman 3 at about 8:21am.

At the scene, police met with the callers, Kaipat’s brother and mother, Marciano Kaipat and Josepha Kaipat, who warned police that Kaipat had been inhaling butane fumes and had a knife.

Josepha Kaipat tried to convince her son to give her the knife but Kaipat allegedly refused and pointed the blade tip at her and threatened to stab and kill her.

Police then stepped in and allegedly tried several times to convince Kaipat to cooperate with them but he would not comply and drop the knife.

One of the officers then used pepper spray on Kaipat, who responded by swinging the knife at him. The officer managed to disarm Kaipat with his baton, while another officer restrained Kaipat and brought him to the Department of Corrections.

Marciano Kaipat later told police that he and Kaipat got into an altercation about a guitar earlier that day and Kaipat used his head to hit Mariano’s head, choked him, and pushed him.