At emotional sentencing, a grieving daughter addresses her father’s attacker

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A man convicted of assault in the beating that led to former sportscaster John Noland’s death was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday.

Mark Coleman was initially charged with manslaughter, but a jury convicted him of assault last month.

In court Wednesday, Noland’s daughter, Alana, addressed her father’s attacker for the first time.

She said she found out about her father’s attack two days after she got engaged.

“Mr. Coleman, you took the happiest event of my life and quickly turned it into a nightmare," she said.

“You have now robbed me of the chance to walk down the aisle with my father on my wedding day ... and the chance to see my dad turn into a granddad.”

Coleman apologized to Noland’s family, blaming his legal problems on a “40-year” battle with drugs.

“I’m just sorry. I’m sorry. It wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t supposed to happen. I’m just so sorry," he said.

Coleman’s lawyer had asked for probation, but Circuit Judge Faauuga Tootoo gave him the maximum five-year prison term, citing his past criminal history.

“He has multiple felony convictions in California, a lot of them drug-related but also a robbery in the first-degree," added deputy Prosecutor Oksana Vincent.

“His daily cocaine use was $100 every two hours. That’s more than $1,000 a day.”

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