LAKE HAVASU CITY – A Lake Havasu City man who took the witness stand with confidence Friday morning at his bench trial in Kingman unraveled hours later when the Court began convicting him of violence involving his former longtime partner and mother of his child. Kenneth Sailley, 29, appeared a mix of bewildered and agitated as Judge Doug Camacho articulated reasons he was finding him guilty of two aggravated assault counts, assault and kidnapping.
Sailley turned his back on the judge on more than one occasion to briefly address supporters in the gallery behind him. The bailiff was first to rise from his seated position to intervene if necessary, before two security officers also stood, another security officer arrived, and two Detention Officers subsequently entered the courtroom.
“Why is the security in here,” “nuts” and “so wrong” he uttered, and he challenged the Court reporter who repeatedly admonished him for talking over the top of others, interfering with her ability to properly capture and formally document the proceeding.
“You’ll need to be quiet or I’ll find you in contempt of court,” Judge Camacho told Sailley.
Realizing he was going to jail, the indignant defendant demonstratively removed his tie and placed his watch and other personal effects on the defense counsel table as the contingent of officers and Court officials placed him in handcuffs and led him away. Sailley’s supporters hurled remarks and a couple of F-bombs in the direction of the victim and her supporters, one of them offering warning to be careful that someone else could be the next victim of false allegations from Sarah Roman, 30.
“Stop” and “enough” were among the many stern directives issued by authorities to civilians engaged in post hearing banter.
Court staff and security worked over the next ten to 15 minutes to effect the transition of the Sailley and Roman camps through the Law and Justice Center, and to their vehicles outside, without further incident.
It was an unconventional case insomuch as it was structured for a judicial determination rather than a trial by a jury of Sailley’s peers. And while Roman’s testimony consumed most of the first day of trial on July 8, the proceeding was continued roughly six weeks to Friday to secure testimony from the former physician who treated Roman for her injuries at Havasu Regional Medical Center.
The medical professional did not testify Friday as defense attorney Mike Shinn indicated he had moved out of state and was unavailable, despite previous subpoena service attempts.
Friday’s testimony instead came solely from Sailley, whose version of events did not at all align with Roman’s.
Both testified they had a turbulent roughly eight-year long relationship that brought them a daughter, that they broke up and conceived a child sharing plan, and that Roman was delivering the four-year-old girl to Sailley for a few days, but their accounts of what happened at the residence they once shared on Feb. 9, 2023 were deeply divergent.
Roman testified that an exceedingly agitated Sailley answered her knock at his door during the child drop-off and ripped their daughter away from her arms before he dragged her inside, placed his hands around her neck and choked her to the point of disorientation and blackout and refused to let her and the girl exit. Sailley testified that Roman dropped off their daughter and left before repeatedly banging on the door and trying to push past him into his residence upon his answer.
Sailley explained he stretched his arms out between the open front door and a closet door at the entryway when Roman attacked him with an aggressive entry attempt. He said he was a mere 6’9″ tall and 197 pounds when the 5’2″, 200-pound-plus five-months pregnant Roman used her mass to try to push past him.
“I stood my ground … I protect my home,” Sailley said. “I would never say I blocked her from leaving. I stood my ground in my home.”
Sailley denied choking, bloodying her nose or otherwise harming Roman, or preventing her exit from the dwelling.
The defendant testified that Roman’s incursion put her shoulder and face in the path of his forearm and watch, which he said could explain the red marks she sustained to her neck. He denied her allegation that he put his hands around her throat and choked her to the brink of unconsciousness on two occasions during the scuffle.
Ultimately, Judge Camacho sided with Roman in rendering his bench trial verdicts, though he did enter an acquittal on the kidnapping count involving the daughter, mostly because she was in the arms of her mother during the engagement. The Judge scheduled a September 20 sentencing hearing.
Sailley faces at least a seven- to 21-year mandatory prison sentence for one of the aggravated assault convictions. He could get many years more unless Judge Camacho determines that punishment for the other convictions should run concurrently because the offenses occurred through one fleeting sequence.
Dave Hawkins
