Man sentenced to 15 years for attack on wife
Judge says family, community ‘needs to be protected’
WAILUKU — For a jealous attack that caused his wife to suffer fractured ribs and a collapsed lung, a Kahului man was sentenced Wednesday to prison terms totaling 15 years.
“These offenses are so serious,” 2nd Circuit Judge Rhonda Loo said in ordering consecutive sentencing for Rommel Bautista. “You could have killed your wife.
“There was no part of your wife’s body that was untouched. She complained of pain to almost every single part of her body from head to toe — head, neck, chest, ears, throat, legs and the list goes on and on.”
Bautista, 41, had pleaded no contest to second-degree assault, first-degree terroristic threatening and felony abuse of a family member. In exchange for his pleas, the prosecution dismissed four other charges, including second-degree attempted murder.
Deputy Prosecutor Shelly Miyashiro said Bautista’s wife did nothing to provoke the attack, which began the night of July 22 when she was in the kitchen of their home on Kuualoha Street and he slapped her face and grabbed her by the throat.
She said Bautista attacked his wife “because he was angry because he thought she was having affairs with other men and she wouldn’t admit she was cheating on him.”
She denied cheating on him. Bautista slammed her against the bathroom door and pushed her to the bathroom floor, according to police.
He kicked her in the ribs and body and stomped on her chest, telling her, “This is who I really am. I am going to kill you,” Miyashiro said.
She said the couple were in the bathroom when his father yelled from outside for Bautista to stop and Bautista yelled back, “No, I’m going to finish her off.”
He grabbed the ceramic toilet tank cover and motioned as if he was going to hit her over her head as she lay on the floor, Miyashiro said.
She said Bautista’s wife left with their 6-year-old son when Bautista’s father began to pound on the front door and Bautista went to answer.
A friend took the woman to the police station and medics transported her to Maui Memorial Medical Center, where she was treated for injuries including three broken ribs and a collapsed lung, Miyashiro said.
While Bautista’s family appeared to have forgiven him and wanted him to return home, Miyashiro said the consecutive sentencing was warranted to “reflect the level of violence the defendant directed toward the victim in front of his 6-year-old son.”
She argued that alcohol wasn’t to blame for Bautista’s actions.
Defense attorney Anthony Ranken said what happened was related to the tequila that Bautista had been drinking. He said the argument that night began after Bautista’s wife woke him and began yelling him.
“It was also provoked by his anger and jealousy,” Ranken said. “The most reasonable interpretation of the events is that he did not intend to end her life. He was trying to force a confession out of her and threatened her in order to get her to confess but she did not.”
Ranken said Bautista has no prior criminal record and his wife “believes he isn’t a threat to her.”
In the 10 years that they have been married, “she says there’s never been an act of violence,” Ranken said.
“He’s never hit her before,” he said. “That’s the somewhat strange and unusual thing about this case. It seems to be a one-off situation.”
Ranken said Bautista isn’t a U.S. citizen and is likely to be deported when he’s released from custody.
“A lengthy term in prison would be a burden on our state to support him when he could be going back to the Philippines where he grew up,” Ranken said.
Bautista said he wanted to be released from jail so he could find a job and help his elderly parents.
He said his 6-year-old son was on the couch and didn’t see what happened in the bathroom.
Judge Loo said she was concerned about what effect it might have on him later. She said Bautista’s adult daughter reported that he and his wife had argued almost every night.
After Bautista choked his wife, knocked her to the ground and threatened to kill her, she rated her fear at 10 on a scale of 1 to 10, Loo said. “Although now maybe she has changed her tune, she thought that night she was going to die,” Loo said.
“She needs to be protected, your son needs to be protected, the community needs to be protected from this kind of behavior.”
Loo ordered that Bautista serve five-year prison terms for each offense separately for a total of 15 years.
“Will five years protect her and your family? I don’t think so,” she said. “Will 10 years protect her and your family? I don’t think so.
“Will 15 years protect your wife and your family? Perhaps.”
Because jail inmates currently aren’t being transported to the courthouse due to a COVID-19 outbreak at the Maui Community Correctional Center, Bautista agreed to appear by videoconference from the jail for his sentencing.