DELHI _ A Milford man charged with burglary and unlawful imprisonment for breaking into a Hamden woman's home was allowed to plead that he was not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect.
Amir A. Sahafi, 41, appeared in Delaware County Court on Monday. He admitted he went to the woman's home to explain to her why he was leaving the area, but she wouldn't let him in, so he broke the safety clasp on the door.
Sahafi said she became frightened and began to hit his chest with her fists, so he grabbed her by the upper arms and pushed her down to the floor.
"I wanted to talk to her," Sahafi said. "I felt the need to talk to her was more important than respecting her boundaries."
Sahafi said he had no intention of hurting her. He said the ankle injury she claimed happened when he pushed her to the ground actually happened when she was running away.
"When she ran across the lawn, I saw her twist her ankle," he said.
Delaware County District Attorney Richard Northrup said the woman was able to get away from Sahafi and ran down her driveway screaming for help. A man driving a pickup truck stopped to help her.
Northrup said that due to the nature of the charges, Sahafi's conduct and his own observations of Sahafi, he felt the mental-disease plea was the best way to serve the best interests of the victim and society.
"To ensure that this behavior doesn't happen again, this is the best result," Northrup said.
Delaware County Judge Carl Becker accepted Sahafi's plea and said he felt it would "provide an opportunity for him to receive treatment in a secure environment."
Safahi will be turned over to the state commissioner of mental hygiene and will be examined by two psychiatrists.
In another case, a 16-year-old from Unadilla pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted burglary in a plea agreement in which he will serve one year in jail and make restitution for damages.
Becker said Jordan R. King will be granted youthful-offender status if there is nothing in his pre-sentence investigation report to indicate other offenses.
According to The Daily Star police blotter that appeared on March 10, King was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana by the state police at Sidney on March 8.
King is scheduled to be sentenced July 13.
Northrup said King and several other teens broke into a building at the BOCES campus in Masonville and stole a safe.
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