AUGUSTA — A Clinton man who assaulted his wife and allegedly struck her with a van that he later destroyed by crashing it into a a stone wall in an attempt to open a safe to get to a gun it contained was sentenced to eight months in jail Tuesday.

John W. Disney II, 35, pleaded guilty to domestic violence reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, domestic violence assault, and domestic violence criminal threatening for his actions when another man fired a gun during an altercation with Disney. A psychologist testified that was a trigger for Disney’s post-traumatic stress disorder that played a major role in his actions.

Disney was sentenced by Superior Court Justice Daniel Mitchell to three years imprisonment with all but eight months suspended, and four years of probation. The suspended sentence means Disney, who has already served about six months while awaiting action on his case, would spend two months more in jail if he complies with the conditions of his probation. If he violates any conditions he could serve the remaining time on the three-year sentence.

Kennebec County prosecutor Shannon Flaherty, an assistant district attorney, said Disney’s wife and the mother of their baby girl returned to her Clinton home after having surgery May 4, 2023, where her mother  planned to stay to help her as she recovered.

Disney, Flaherty said, was upset his wife’s mother was there. Calls to 911 were made from the home, prompting a police response. The police, Flaherty said, left after determining the argument was verbal. Later that day, more 911 calls were made from the home. The officer who reached the victim could hear screaming and talk about Disney trying to break into a safe that contained one or more guns.

Flaherty said the victim told police Disney grabbed her shoulder and smashed her head into a vehicle’s driver-side window and started to strangle her.

As they struggled, another man got involved, getting into a tussle with Disney in the driveway.

Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said outside the hearing that the man fired the gun into the ground to stop Disney’s attack on the victim; the man was not charged with any crimes in the incident.

Disney, Flaherty said, went inside to a closet in a bedroom where the couple’s baby was asleep on the bed. Disney ordered his wife to open the safe, but she refused to give him the combination. Flaherty said at some point Disney said he would kill his wife and her parents.

Disney, Flaherty said, threw the safe down two flights of stairs, trying to open it and, failing to do so, took the safe outside and started using the couple’s van to hit the safe.

Flaherty said as the victim tried to move the safe out of the way, Disney hit her with the side of their vehicle. He then crashed it into the safe and a stone wall, totaling the van and narrowly missing the victim.

Disney’s attorney, Akintoye Akinjiola, said the victim’s medical records did not support the claim that the woman had been strangled or hit by a car.

He said that’s one reason multiple initial charges were later dismissed by the state because the state could have had a hard time proving the most serious charges beyond a reasonable doubt in court in a jury trial.

Disney was indicted in July 2023 on two counts of aggravated assault, and single counts of domestic violence reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, domestic violence criminal threatening, domestic violence terrorizing and domestic violence assault, all stemming from the May 4, 2023, incident in Clinton and all involving the same victim. He was charged the following day with violating condition of release for contacting the victim.

All but three of those charges were dismissed. The most serious remaining charge was the Class C felony count of domestic violence reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, which was the van.

Akinjiola said Disney, a former U.S. Marine who served five years, including in combat in the Middle East, suffers from multiple mental health disorders following childhood emotional and physical abuse and combat-related trauma while serving at forward operating bases near enemy lines. Akinjiola said seven Marines from Disney’s team were killed in a training accident after returning to the United States following their deployment.

Disney has been treated off and on at Veterans Administration facilities for PTSD and other problems, he said. Disney deserved a second chance and shouldn’t be judged only by his actions during a low point in his life.

Psychologist James Harrison, who evaluated Disney for the defense, said his diagnosis included PTSD, major depressive disorder, and severe dissociative disorder. He said the disorders, when triggered, can cause Disney to hyper focus on survival without thought of future implications of actions.

Harrison said the gunshot triggered Disney’s PTSD, putting him into a fight-or-flight survival mode and making him hyper-focused on what he perceived as a threat.

Akinjiola said 80% of what happened that night occurred after the gunshot when Disney was experiencing PTSD trauma. He also said Disney’s intent in trying to get the gun out of the safe was to protect himself from the man who’d fired the gun, not to kill his wife.

Flaherty, who sought a four-year sentence with all but two years suspended for Disney, countered that Disney was also violent to the victim before the gunshot occurred.

The victim, whom the newspaper is not naming because it does not identify victims of domestic violence without their permission, testified that as Disney was attacking her, she begged him to think of their baby sleeping in the same room, but instead he told her they would all be dead once he got into the safe and got her guns. She said she and her teenage son, who was also home at the time, have PTSD and anxiety due to his attack. She said she’s seeking a 50-year protection order against him.

“I stand here today and say I hope this is the last time I ever have to see you,” she said.

Disney apologized in court, saying he pleaded guilty to the charges he pleaded to because he’s responsible for them.

“I’m embarrassed and ashamed that I am a point of trauma in her life, coming from a place that I, myself, have been put through plenty of trauma,” Disney said. “She was never the target of rage that night, and any damage I’ve caused, I am eternally sorry for.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify the identity of the man who shot a gun.