A Juneau man who pleaded no contest in 2015 to charges including assault and resisting arrest has lost an appeal of his sentence.
David Alan Cimino was sentenced in May 2015 to a total of two years and 270 days on two fourth-degree assault charges, as well as for resisting arrest, fifth-degree criminal mischief and providing false information.
According to the memorandum opinion issued by the Court of Appeals that was released Friday, Cimino was arrested in April 2015 after he was caught smoking a cigarette in the bathroom of an Alaska Airlines jet while in flight. After the plane landed in Juneau, Cimino was contacted by Juneau Police Department Officer Kim Horn and Sgt. Chris Burke; he identified himself as “Johnny Eagle” and subsequently tried to flee.
During the ensuing struggle, he was taken to the ground but grabbed Horn’s holstered handgun and tried to take it from her. Burke reportedly punched Cimino in the head, causing him to let go of the gun, but he then tried to take Horn’s Taser, the opinion by Anchorage Superior Court Judge John Suddock stated.
After Burke drew his own Taser, Cimino was cuffed, but he then bit Horn on the cheek and began fighting with the officers for the second time. After he was subdued, and was being taken to jail, he repeatedly kicked the inside of the patrol vehicle and caused $200 in damage, according to the background facts listed in the opinion.
Juneau District Court Judge Thomas Nave found Cimino to be a “worst offender” on the two counts of assault — one for each officer — and imposed the maximum one-year term for each count.
Cimino argued that Nave made a mistake in finding him to be a worst offender and imposing all five sentences consecutively (to be served one after the other), rather than concurrently (to be served all at the same time). A worst offender finding can be based on the circumstances surrounding the charged offense, on the defendant’s criminal history, or both, Suddock wrote.
Burke said “that his arrest of Cimino was one of the most violent encounters in his 18-plus years as a police officer,” Suddock stated. “Officer Horn had told him that she feared for her life when Cimino went for her gun.” Burke was awarded a Law Enforcement Purple Heart for his actions that day.
Suddock also noted that Cimino had multiple out of state convictions, including felony battery in 2009 for hitting and biting his girlfriend before pushing her out of a car and driving over her leg.
“We conclude that Cimino’s violence, the injuries he inflicted, and the fact that he attempted to gain control of a police officer’s gun — taken together with (his) prior record — justified the district court’s finding,” Suddock concluded, ruling that the sentence imposed was not mistaken.
• Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
