Savo was convicted of assault in the fourth degree and interfering with the report of a domestic violence crime, and will spend four months in jail.
DILLINGHAM: On Tuesday, a jury of six found Josh Savo, 25, of Dillingham guilty of assaulting his off-and-on girlfriend on March 16 of this year. He was also convicted of interfering with the reporting of a domestic violence crime.
Savo's trial started Monday in Dillingham, and the six jurors plus one alternate heard closing arguments Tuesday morning.
During her testimony Monday, the victim described an extremely violent attack after she and Savo had returned to her house following a night at the Sea Inn bar. The victim and Savo both described their relationship at the time as off-and-on, and both admitted to have been drinking that night.
She testified that the situation turned violent when she ordered Savo out of her house, and he refused to leave.
In painful detail, the victim recounted being punched, kicked, and thrown around the house. She said Savo stood on her chest until she couldn’t breathe, then moved his foot to her throat.
"Breathe now, breathe now bitch," the victim testified Savo was saying as he stood with his foot on her throat.
She said she kicked him in the groin and was able to get away. When she tried to call the police, he threw her phone on the ground, breaking it.
Clothes torn and blood on her face, the victim was left in a crumpled heap on the kitchen floor with multiple injuries, including a broken finger and sprained knee.
Josh Savo ran to a closet. He called the police, and told them he was the one being attacked.
Savo’s defense attorney called it a night full of inconsistent recollections, which he attributed to both parties being inebriated. He also said that Savo had been trying to defend himself against the victim’s assault, not the other way around.
The jury didn’t buy it.
They deliberated for just one hour before handing down two guilty verdicts, one for assault in the fourth degree, and the other for interfering with the report of a domestic violence crime. Both are misdemeanor offenses.
In crafting her sentence, Judge Patricia Douglass said the community has "time and again made clear that it abhors alcohol-related domestic violence."
Judge Douglass sentenced Savo to four months of jail time, with a further five months of suspended jail time. He was also ordered to seek batterers and alcohol abuse treatment.
Josh Savo has till Monday to report to the Dillingham jail to begin his sentence.