A 20-year-old man who robbed two tourists at knifepoint two years ago at a beach park north of Hilo was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison.
Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura granted Tyler Kamana‘o Taylor credit for time already served behind bars.
In a deal with prosecutors, Taylor pleaded guilty Feb. 9 to second-degree robbery, second-degree theft, first-degree terroristic threatening and auto theft. In return for his plea, prosecutors reduced a first-degree robbery charge, a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and dropped a criminal property damage charge and two counts of unlawful imprisonment.
In the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 6, 2013, Taylor robbed two 29-year-old campers, Rayna Macher of San Mateo, Calif., and Daniel Toman of San Francisco, at Kolekole Beach Park.
Macher told the Tribune-Herald on Feb. 9, 2013, she and Toman were awakened by an intruder who said he was a park ranger. She said the man ripped through their tent with a knife, which he brandished at them, shined a flashlight in their faces, ransacked their belongings and stole numerous items including their wallets, which contained money and credit cards; a laptop computer; their cellphones; and an expensive digital camera.
The man then took off in the 2012 Ford Mustang she had rented, which police later found abandoned in upper Wainaku.
Deputy Prosecutor Shannon Kagawa asked the judge to run a five-year sentence for auto theft sentence consecutive to the robbery sentence “to reflect the seriousness of this offense, for just punishment, as well as to protect the public.” She said Macher and Toman “were traumatized by this incident.”
“Mr. Taylor, on that night, pretended he was a park ranger, and took items belonging to them,” she said. “He could’ve just taken the items and left because Mr. Taylor arrived in a separate vehicle. However, he decided to take the vehicle belonging to Miss Macher and Mr. Toman, leaving them stranded there … in the middle of the night.”
Justin Haspe, Taylor’s court-appointed attorney, argued for the 10-year term.
“This is the first felony that he has committed and, basically, he had no record before that,” he said. “Standing in front of you now, facing at least 10 years in prison, he does see the seriousness of his actions and, again, is sorry for what he did. At the time of the offense … he was addicted to methamphetamine and was smoking it daily.”
Haspe said Taylor hopes to receive drug treatment while in prison in hopes that he can “lead a pro-social life with his longtime girlfriend” upon his release.
Taylor did not address the court but pointed to and said something to his girlfriend, who was seated in the courtroom gallery, as he was ushered from the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies after the hearing.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.