Probation ordered for man who threw pole at officer during arrest

Attorney: Defendant was dealing with mental health issues at the time

WAILUKU -- A man who was in a "mental health episode" when he threw a pointed pole at a police officer and tried to bite him was placed on five years' probation Thursday.

Anthony Fonseca, 60, was given credit for about eight months he had spent in jail after being arrested Aug. 15.

Shortly before 2 a.m. that day, police were called to investigate a report of disorderly conduct near the 1500 block of South Kihei Road.

An officer found Fonseca in a campsite in the area when he raised a 5-foot metal pole with a pointed tip at the officer, according to police. After being told not to, Fonseca threw the pole at the officer, hitting his left forearm and causing a laceration, police said. The officer told Fonseca he was under arrest and instructed him to lie on the ground. As the officer was handcuffing Fonseca, he tried to pull the officer to the ground and tried to bite him, according to police.

Fonseca grabbed the officer's baton and was reaching for the gun of another officer who had arrived, police said.

Fonseca had pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree terroristic threatening, two counts of first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.

"This is very egregious conduct against law enforcement," said Deputy Prosecutor Johann Smith, who asked Thursday that Fonseca be sentenced to the maximum one-year jail term as part of probation.

Smith said it would be a "fair sentence for a person like this who attacks police, fights tooth and nail against them when they're trying to arrest him."

Although Fonseca said he didn't know it was a police officer who approached him, "he certainly knew it was a police officer by the time there were three of them on top of him," Smith said.

"He didn't let up," Smith said. "They tried to Taser him over and over and over, and he did not stop."

Deputy Public Defender Selina Pannell asked for Fonseca to be released from jail.

She said there was poor lighting in the area so Fonseca wasn't aware police officers were there that night.

"He was in the middle of a mental health episode," she said. "It simply was a man who reacted poorly while dealing with his own mental health issues."

She said Fonseca was now stable. "He looks forward to getting out and being successful on probation," she said.

Fonseca said he was "feeling much better."

Second Circuit Judge Kelsey Kawano followed a plea agreement between the defense and prosecution in sentencing Fonseca, who was released from jail Thursday.

"It does appear you were not in your right mind," Kawano told the defendant. "You were not in control of yourself. There's a definite need for you to undergo a complete mental health assessment."

As part of his probation, Fonseca was ordered not to possess alcohol or illegal drugs.

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