Rafu Staff Report
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Yoshiaki Nagaya, vice consul at the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, has pleaded no contest to two felony counts of domestic violence in San Mateo County Superior Court.
“The defendant did plead nolo contendere this morning … and will be sentenced on Feb. 4, 2013,” San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told The Rafu Shimpo on Thursday.
Nagaya, 33, was living in San Bruno with his wife of 18 months when he was arrested and charged with multiple counts for incidents of abuse that occurred between Jan. 12, 2011 and March 31, 2012.
Prosecutors said that Yuka Nagaya, who is much smaller than her husband, was subjected to constant domestic violence during the course of their marriage while they lived in both San Francisco and San Bruno.
Among other incidents, she said that he stabbed her in the hand with a screwdriver, hit her with a laptop, and stomped on her. She photographed her injuries after every attack, and decided to go to the police last March after her husband threw her out of the car in their apartment parking garage, causing scrapes on her face and knees, prosecutors said.
In court testimony, Yuka Nagaya said she and her husband argued often, in some cases because she accused him of having an affair.
Yoshiaki Nagaya pleaded no contest before Judge Craig Parsons following a plea agreement that called for no state prison and up to one year in county jail.
One count was for hitting the victim on the arm, causing bruising, on May 3, 2011; the other was for kicking and punching the victim, causing a fractured tooth, and shoving her face into a mattress on Jan. 21, 2012.
The other counts were dismissed as part of the negotiated plea, but will be considered by the court in determining restitution and the appropriate jail sentence.
Nagaya remains out of custody on $350,000 bail bond and has continued to work at the consulate, where he is involved in relations with Silicon Valley companies.