A former Pearl Harbor base police officer charged with murder in connection with the disappearance of a Navy exchange cashier in 1992 pleaded no contest to assault Thursday in state court.

As part of a plea deal, Jenaro Torres, 64, also agreed to the maximum prison term for first-degree assault.

State Circuit Judge Michael Wilson sentenced Torres to the 10 years in prison and ordered him to spend at least five years behind bars before he can be eligible for parole because he committed the crime while in possession of a firearm, threatened its use or used a firearm during the assault.

Torres has been in state custody for seven years. That time will be applied toward his sentence. The Hawaii Paroling Authority, can set a higher minimum, meaning Torres could remain in prison longer.

His lawyer Emmanuel Guerrero said Torres pleaded no contest to put the matter to rest.

The state attorney general’s office handled the prosecution.

State Attorney General David Louie said in a written statement that the plea agreement was reasonable because three witnesses with information critical to the outcome of the case have died since the offense occurred in 1992.

He said the family of the missing man, Ruben Gallegos, supported the agreement and continues to hope that Torres may someday reveal where Gallegos’ remains are.

Gallegos, 19, disappeared May 1, 1992, while assigned to cash checks at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base Exchange. He was last seen being escorted from his cashier’s cage by Torres, who was off duty at the time but in uniform. Gallegos has not been seen since then.

Fellow Pearl Harbor federal police officers arrested Torres attempting to re-enter Pearl Harbor later that day and found in his car most of the $80,000 that was assigned to Gallegos, the cashier’s wallet, identification and other personal belongings, a stun gun and a firearm that contained two live rounds and three spent casings.

Torres pleaded no contest in federal court in 1992 to theft and possessing a loaded firearm on a public highway without a license. He was sentenced to two years in prison.

In 2005 the state charged Torres with Gallegos’ murder, and a state jury found him guilty in 2007.

But the Hawaii Supreme Court overturned the conviction because of the manner in which federal police discovered the items in Torres’ car.

During the trial, Susan Davis, who worked with Torres in California after his release from prison, testified that Torres admitted that he killed an accomplice in a robbery in Hawaii and threatened her if she told anyone.

Davis is one of the three witnesses who has died. Guerrero says Torres insists he did not kill Gallegos and is not responsible for his disappearance.