BELFAST, Maine — A Frankfort man has been sentenced to nearly a year in jail with all but 30 days suspended after he pleaded guilty last week to assaulting his girlfriend and a male friend in Belfast earlier this winter.
John J. Ronayne Jr., 36, came to the attention of the Belfast Police Department on Feb. 16 when a caller reported a domestic situation on Piper Stream Lane. When officers arrived at the residence, Ronayne’s girlfriend told them he had been drinking vodka, “and when he drinks vodka, he gets angry,” according to an officer’s incident report included in documents filed at Waldo County Superior Court. The woman’s child also was present during the incident.
The victim told officers that Ronayne got mad after she took the last cigarette and he pinned her on the floor. A male friend who was at the residence tried to help, but Ronayne tackled him and pulled him on the floor, scraping and bruising the friend. Ronayne then took his girlfriend’s phone and wallet and threw them into the deep snow behind the trailer. She told police he started to “come back after her,” and she punched him in the nose to try and protect herself. He then tackled her, bruising her arm before she and the male friend were able to get away and run across the street to call for help.
Ronayne pleaded guilty to refusing to submit to arrest or detention, assault and domestic violence assault. After he serves his jail sentence, he will spend two years on probation, with conditions that include his having no contact with the victim and submitting to substance abuse counseling and participating in a certified batterer’s intervention program. He also must submit to random searches for alcohol and drugs.