- Leituono Falaniko received probation for assaulting his girlfriend, who later died.
- He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, and the judge suspended his one-year jail sentence.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Midvale man who was charged with assaulting his girlfriend, who later died at a hospital, will spend the next two years on probation.
Leituono Falaniko, 32, was sentenced to one year in jail for assault causing substantial bodily injury, a class A misdemeanor, but 3rd District Judge Vernice Trease suspended that jail sentence and ordered him to complete probation.
He pleaded guilty on June 1, immediately before being sentenced, under a plea deal that reduced the charge from a third-degree felony. Falaniko admitted to abusing the woman and causing a substantial risk of injury to her…