A 23-year-old Ocean View man was sentenced to a lengthy prison term Wednesday for his role in a violent robbery earlier this year on South Point Road in Ka‘u.
Kainoa H. Kahele-Bishop was ordered to serve an indeterminate period of up to 20 years in prison for first-degree robbery by 3rd Circuit Court Chief Judge Ronald Ibarra. Kahele-Bishop was also sentenced to serve concurrently up to five years for first-degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and five years for second-degree theft, as well as to pay $747.65 in fees and $958.16 in restitution.
The Hawaii Paroling Authority at a later date will set the minimum mandatory term Kahele-Bishop must serve before becoming eligible for parole. He will receive credit for time he has served since his arrest following the Jan. 26 robbery in which he reportedly accompanied Trinety S. Crapser, who has yet to stand trial for the crime.
“You’re 23 (years old) now, you’re very young and while you’re there in prison you take advantage of the programs and unfortunately the court does not direct the director of public safety of where to place to you,” Ibarra told Kahele-Bishop, noting placement would likely be determined based on several factors, including the crime, his age, prior record and a risk assessment. “But I leave you with this: Some day you are going to come out of prison and I hope that you come out of prison a better person, pay your debt to society and live a law-abiding life and not come out of prison and continue your way of criminal behavior.”
Kahele-Bishop was convicted for the robbery, unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and theft charges following a September jury trial. During the trial, three additional charges he faced in connection with a separate robbery on Jan. 26 in which a man reported he had been robbed while fishing at gunpoint were dropped.
According to testimony provided by the victim of the crime, Trudi Grentz, during a preliminary hearing held in the days after the robbery, said Crapser exited from a vehicle wielding a hatchet and demanded possession of her Corvette before a scuffle ensued. During the scuffle, Grentz said Kahele-Bishop exited from the same vehicle that Crapser had and reached into the Corvette and grabbed a large bag containing a laptop, cellphone, wallet and jewelry-making tools and supplies. He then fled in the vehicle.
Grentz continued to struggle with Crapser, eventually gaining control of the hatchet, before Crapser got into the Corvette but was unable to start it. When another man arrived on the scene the scuffle ended. While waiting for police, Crapser fled but was arrested the next day. Kahele-Bishop was arrested Jan. 30.
Crapser faces charges of first-degree robbery, first-degree unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, third-degree assault, first-degree attempted unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle and second-degree attempted assault. Proceedings have been suspended pending a mental health examination. A lengthy hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 3 before Ibarra to determine whether Crapser is fit to stand trial.
During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kauanoe Jackson said the state was not seeking to have Kahele-Bishop sentenced consecutively on the charges with the hope that Kahele-Bishop takes responsibility for his action. She also noted Kahele-Bishop’s age as well as short criminal record that included just three prior convictions for contempt of court and failure to appear in court.
“The state’s hope is at the end of everything that is said and done that at one point the defendant recognizes his responsibility in this case by way of his inaction or action that he participated in this case and there came a point where he facilitated and there came a point where he assisted and that facilitation and assisting is what brought him here today,” she said.
Prior to Ibarra handing down the sentence, Kahele-Bishop, dressed in an orange Hawaii Community Correctional Center jumpsuit with his wrists shackled at the waist, addressed the court saying he felt was treated unfairly, had little contact with his public defender, Dean Kauka, and his counterpart in the crime, Crapser, received better treatment.
“I just feel like me getting sentenced for just being there 20 years is unfair but I would just like to ask for some leniency from the courts during my sentencing,” said Kahele-Bishop.