Dad attacks driver who killed baby
The father of a 10-month-old baby killed in a drunken-driving crash attacked the man convicted of the crime as he was about to be sentenced in Circuit Court yesterday.
Ceriaco Kasoga, 56, was knocked unconscious briefly just down the hall from Circuit Judge Richard Pollack's courtroom, his attorney confirmed. Kasoga was taken to Kaiser Medical Center in stable condition and his sentencing for negligent homicide was postponed to April 17.
The baby's father was arrested for the alleged assault.
Deputy public defender Darcia Forrester said she and her client were walking to Pollack's courtroom for the 8:45 a.m. sentencing when the father of car crash victim, Saydee Miller, attacked Kasoga by punching him in the face, which knocked him to the ground.
The father, who is in his 20s, kicked Kasoga before family members pulled him off, she said. It happened "extremely quickly," Forrester said.
She said her client was prepared to be sentenced and to be taken into custody yesterday.
"It's highly unfortunate," Forrester said, noting that her client is not sure he wants to press charges against the girl's father. "He's very cognizant of their pain."
Kasoga has done everything in his power to express his sorrow to the girl's family and did not want to take the case to trial, she said.
Forrester was expected to argue for a deferral of Kasoga's guilty plea but was prepared for a sentence that included probation with some jail time.
The deputy prosecutor handling the case could not be reached for comment.
Kasoga pleaded guilty to causing the death of Saydee Miller, a passenger in another car, while he was driving intoxicated near Waimea Bay on Sept. 21, 2005.