Maui man gets 10 years for violence against girlfriend

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) - A Maui man who prosecutors say physically and emotionally tortured his girlfriend has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The Maui News reports 20-year-old Bryan Planesi was sentenced Wednesday after pleading no contest to two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of abuse of a household member.

Deputy prosecutor Brandon Segal told the court that the Pukalani man perpetrated a series of violent acts in October 2017 against the woman he had been dating for about two years.

Segal says those acts included punching her on the face, shooting her 17 times with an airsoft gun, choking her until she passed out, and bending her fingers backward until she felt like they were broken.

Planesi apologized in court, agreeing with the judge that he was insecure and jealous.