FONTANA - A former computer instructor at Garey High School in Pomona was sentenced to four years in state prison this week for breaking into his estranged wife's home and attacking her.
Augustine Anene, 54, was sentenced in Fontana Superior Court on Thursday after Judge Cara D. Hutson denied Anene's request to withdraw his guilty pleas to two felonies: burglary and spousal abuse.
Anene and his wife had been separated for about four months when he sneaked into her home in the 15700 block of Firethorn Road in Fontana and hid in her bedroom closet, according to prosecutors.
After his wife fell asleep, Anene emerged from the closet and tried to strangle her, prosecutors said. The attack was stopped by one of the couples teenage sons, who heard his mother screaming and pushed Anene off her bed.
Anene pleaded guilty in December as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
In an earlier trial, a jury deadlocked over whether Anene's attack constituted attempted murder. Anene testified during the trial that he was trying to speak to his wife, and was not attacking her.