Suspended lawyer Antonio M. Atalig yesterday entered a guilty plea in his domestic violence case and was subsequently slapped with a 40-day jail term that he already in prison.
Atalig signed a plea agreement with the government and pleaded guilty to two counts of assault (domestic violence).
As part of the plea deal, the government dismissed the nine other criminal counts.
Superior Court associate judge David A. Wiseman accepted Atalig's guilty plea and the agreement.
Wiseman sentenced the defendant to a total of one year, all suspended except 40 days.
Atalig was given credit for the 40 days he already served behind bars. It means he will no longer serve more jail time.
Atalig was placed on probation for three years. He was required to pay a $200 fine, $300 in probation fees, and $100 in court costs.
The suspended lawyer was ordered to perform 200 hours of community work service, submit to an alcohol abuse evaluation and treatment at the Community Guidance Center. He is prohibited from possessing or consuming any alcoholic beverages during his three-year probation.
According to the factual basis of the agreement, on July 29, 2012 on Saipan, Atatig grabbed rocks and a PVC pipe and offered or attempted to strike them at two minor children.
Police arrested the suspended lawyer on July 29, 2012 shortly after the incident that happened at his residence in Papago.
In May 2012, Wiseman suspended Atalig and attorney Reynaldo O. Yana from practicing law in the CNMI for refusing to return $1.1 million in attorneys' fees that the two obtained from the Angel Malite estate.
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