10-year sentence for Maui man's hammer attack on ex's lover

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) - A Maui man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for using a hammer to attack a man he found in bed with his ex-girlfriend.

Lomae Harry Lomae's defense attorney said he snapped after seeing the naked man sleeping with the woman in March.

"He's here for snapping but then stopping almost immediately after the damage was done, whereas more damage could have been done very easily," said defense attorney Jon Apo. "He's remorseful."

Lomae, 54, found the man asleep in bed next to the woman and hit him on his forehead and when the man scrambled to escape, Lomae hit him again on the back of his head, said deputy Prosecutor Emlyn Higa. She said Lomae and the woman had argued a couple of days earlier and she told him not to return to her apartment.

But Lomae went there "after drinking and stewing," Higa said.

The attack left the man with two compound skull fractures, Higa said.

Lomae told police he heard from family members that the woman was seeing someone else.

The woman and the victim were reluctant to pursue prosecution. "Part of it had to do with shame because there was a triangle going on," Higa said.

Lomae was originally charged with attempted murder but pleaded no contest to reduced charges of assault and burglary.

Lomae was also ordered to pay about $3,500 in restitution, the Maui News (http://ow.ly/I6nZI ) reported Wednesday.

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Information from: The Maui News, http://www.mauinews.com