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Judge: Protecting boyfriend is no excuse for assault

WAILUKU — A woman who said she was trying to break up a fight was sentenced to a one-year jail term for an assault that left a man with deep cuts on his forearm and finger.

“I know your intent was to protect your boyfriend,” 2nd Circuit Judge Rhonda Loo said in sentencing Maya Blondel on Wednesday. “The problem is you did more than that.”

Blondel threw ceramic bowls at the victim, then slashed him with a ceramic shard June 23 at the Alano Club of Lahaina, according to police.

“You can tell it’s a very, very sharp object that cut his arm,” Loo said after seeing photos of the injuries. “That slash is very, very, very deep.”

When police arrived, victim Edwin Allomong was close to passing out because he had lost so much blood, Loo noted. He was transported to the hospital emergency room.

“No matter what happened between your boyfriend and Mr. Allomong, he did not deserve to be the victim,” Loo told Blondel. “He didn’t deserve to get slashed.

“It’s not a cut. This is almost to the bone. You did some real damage here.”

Blondel, 39, who gave no local address, had pleaded no contest to second-degree assault. Two threatening charges were dismissed in exchange for her plea.

Deputy Prosecutor Carson Tani said Blondel and Ryan Lefevre reportedly had gone to the club looking for their cat before Lefevre demanded the victim’s sunglasses.

When the two men got into a fight, Blondel “was overzealous in her attempt to defend the father of her children and lost control,” said her attorney, Chris Dunn.

“This is not, on her part, an attack out of the blue,” he said. “Her involvement is trying to break up the fight. She’s just radically overzealous.”

Blondel, who has spent about seven months in jail, asked to be released Wednesday so she could work toward getting stable housing and employment and be reunited with her children.

“I want to get back in my life and just work and be with my kids,” she said.

Tani recommended the one-year jail term as part of probation for Blondel.

Judge Loo followed a plea agreement between the defense and prosecution in imposing the one-year term as part of four years’ probation for Blondel. She was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service and to complete anger management treatment.

Blondel also was ordered not to consume alcohol or illegal drugs and to write a letter apologizing to Allomong.

Tani said Allomong had obtained a temporary restraining order against Blondel and Lefevre that is in place until 2022.

A case is pending against Lefevre, 35, of Haiku, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree robbery and second-degree assault.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

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