A 24-year-old Puna man was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years on charges stemming from a 2013 crime spree and an attempted jailbreak last year.
Hilo Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hara had harsh words for Airiel Rhodes Jost while sentencing him for first-degree robbery, terroristic threatening, attempted escape, property damage, two counts of driving a stolen vehicle, and three counts of first-degree burglary.
The judge noted “the severity and the threats to public safety and the individuals involved here and the physical threats of violence and actual violence,” and said if Jost had sought leniency under the state’s youthful offender law, he would have denied the request.
In addition to the jail time, Hara ordered Jost to pay restitution of $5,488.74 to the state for the damage to Hawaii Community Correctional Center during an April 25 escape attempt. Also charged for the attempted jailbreak were inmates Malaki McBride, Kawaipuna Noa and Douglas Kaimiola.
The judge also ordered Jost to repay $7,555.21 to several victims in the offenses he pleaded guilty to, plus another $14,140 to victims in cases that were not charged, as part of the plea deal.
Jost addressed the court and apologized “to the victims and the community for the for the crimes I’ve committed.”
“I was really messed up on drugs. I really didn’t care about anything,” he said. “But I’ve been sober for … about two years now. I’ve changed a lot and I do care a lot about a lot of things now.
“I understand I was a complete loser before I was arrested. And now that I’ve been arrested and have been sober, I’ve been changing and I feel I don’t have to be a loser anymore. I feel I have the potential to succeed in life, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing when I eventually do get out.”
Hara asked Jost if he had read the letters submitted by victims in his case and pointed to one in particular. Jost replied that he had not. His attorney, Ivan Van Leer, said he shielded Jost from the letter because he didn’t want Jost “to feel the pain of what was embodied in that letter.”
“If what he’s saying is that he was a monster on drugs two years ago (and) he’s not now, I want him to see what that monster did in terms of the effects on people around him and whether or not he wants to go down that path again,” Hara told Van Leer.
“I know for a fact I won’t do that again,” Jost replied, softly.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.