A 20-year-old Hilo man caught on surveillance video throwing a Macy’s store detective to the ground after the assailant’s girlfriend allegedly shoplifted a men’s T-shirt was sentenced Thursday to four years probation.
Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara also sentenced Obed Kuahiwinui Jr. to a year in jail, with all but 20 days stayed if Kuahiwinui complies with conditions of his sentence, which include 100 hours of community service.
In a deal with prosecutors, Kuahiwinui pleaded no contest to second-degree robbery, a Class B felony with a possible 10-year prison term.
Police say that on April 18, the girl, then 15, was spotted on video stealing the shirt. She and Kuahiwinui reportedly left the Prince Kuhio Plaza store without paying for it.
After store detectives confronted the pair and attempted to take them back inside, Kuahiwinui threw one of the detectives, William Guest, to the ground, causing injuries to his head and ribs.
The pair then fled on foot, police said. They turned themselves in four days later after an image from the video was released to the public.
Kuahiwinui’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Michael Ebesugawa, argued for a deferred acceptance of the plea, which means the felony conviction would be erased from Kuahiwinui’s record if he stayed out of further trouble during the deferral period. He cited Kuahiwinui’s age and lack of a prior criminal record.
“After the offense and after some notoriety, Mr. Kuahiwinui voluntarily surrendered to the police,” Ebesugawa said. “… He did not know that his girlfriend … had allegedly shoplifted a T-shirt. (When) he was confronted outside … a physical altercation ensued because he believed … he and his girlfriend were being falsely accused of theft and … also being manhandled.”
Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville countered that Hawaii has a “Fagin statute” — named after the character in the Dickens novel “Oliver Twist” who had children steal for him. He said the law provides for stiffer penalties for adults who use juveniles to commit crimes.
“Certainly Mr. Kuahiwinui needs to know that wasn’t (the girl’s) T-shirt that was shoplifted; it was a man’s T-shirt,” he said.
Damerville said Kuahiwinui was responsible for any publicity caused by police releasing video images.
“It’s nobody’s fault but your own because you left the scene,” he said.
Kuahiwinui addressed the court briefly and said he was sorry for his actions.
“I know that they were wrong, but at the time of the moment, with everything happening and not knowing, it just kind of slipped out of hand,” he said.
The judge denied Kuahiwinui’s request for a deferred plea, but said he’d revisit the idea in a year if Kuahiwinui stays out of trouble.
“There were injuries to a victim in this case,” the judge said. “… The escalation of the situation happened because of your girlfriend and you coming in to try to protect her, but that’s not what should have happened. You should have been encouraging her to cooperate with the loss prevention officers to clear the matter up so you could go on and get to your bus.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.