NORTHAMPTON – A city man was sentenced Wednesday to three years in state prison for intimidating and physically assaulting a disabled man.
Hampshire Superior Court Judge Richard Carey imposed the sentence on Donald P. Renkowicz, 56, as part of an agreed-upon plea deal. Renkowicz received three years in prison on a charge of intimidation of a witness and a 2 ½- to 3-year sentence on assault and battery on a disabled person to be served concurrently.
Renkowicz pleaded guilty to the charges on Oct. 30 and has been under house arrest with a GPS monitor as he awaited sentencing. He has been credited with 230 days confinement. Probation was not included in Renkowicz’s sentence.
Assistant District Attorney Jayme Parent said in court she did not believe probation would do any good, given Renkowicz’s lengthy criminal record and because he has been on probation before.
“If he’s going to change his behavior he’s going to have to do it on his own,” Parent said.
She noted that this would be Renkowicz’s first state prison sentence and described it as “more than appropriate.”
The incident from which the charges stem occurred in Northampton in October 2017. Renkowicz punched a 38-year old developmentally disabled man in the face several times and threatened to burn down his house if he went to the police. Renkowicz was intoxicated at the time, and Parent said that this has been a common feature of his crimes.
Renkowicz was supposed to be sentenced Tuesday, but showed up to court visibly intoxicated, which caused his bail to be revoked and Renkowicz to be sent to the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction.
“Yesterday was highly inappropriate,” said Colin Keefe, Renkowicz’s defense attorney in court. “He really does apologize and I apologize on his behalf.”
Keefe also said that his client is accepting responsibility for his actions and that since pleading guilty in October, Renkowicz has taken care of an elderly woman who is known to him.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.