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A 32-year-old Lihue woman was sentenced to five years in prison for smashing an ATM machine and a glass window at Longs Drug store with an aluminum baseball bat at the Kukui Grove Center nearly a year ago, the Garden Island News reported.
Patricia Lewis pleaded no contest on Aug. 20 to second-degree criminal property damage for the two acts of vandalism that occurred on Dec. 19. Kauai Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe also ordered Lewis also to pay $3,960 in restitution to American Savings Bank, which owns the ATM machine, and $576.38 to the drug store.
In response to state Deputy Public Defender Samuel Jajich’s request that the court to consider time Lewis spend at mental health facilities as credit for time served, the court suspended two years and 10 months of the sentence. In March, Lewis was sent to the Hawaii State Hospital for refusing to attend court hearings. She underwent three examinations to determine her mental fitness for trial.
County Second Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Vogt said the state asked for a full prison term, in part, for numerous prior convictions and unresolved cases, according the Garden Island News.
