KEALAKEKUA — The last of the six men police said were involved in a crime spree that included crashing and abandoning a stolen BMW while using meth was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday.
Douglas Daniel Kaimiola, 32, Captain Cook, also known as Oni, was arrested on Jan. 11, 2015, and charged with 25 counts of burglary, drug offenses, auto theft and entry into a controlled vehicle for a number of incidents that happened throughout December 2014 and January 2015.
This all occurred when he was on parole for a 2006 case where he pleaded guilty to six felony counts, including family abuse and possession of a firearm by a felon.
His actions were part of a crime spree that spread over most of West Hawaii, with numerous incidents in Kailua-Kona:
* On Dec. 26, Kaimiola and Stephen Kaleo Graham, 26, Captain Cook, worked together to steal two Dodge Caravans and damage a Chrysler Town and Country automobile from a taxi company.
Three 4Runners were stolen later, two of which were later found at the home where Kaimiola was arrested. One was stripped of its tires after it was abandoned, while the others were undamaged and returned to the owner.
* On Jan. 7, Keoni Fujio Yamada, was seen breaking into a vehicle at Kua Bay and taking items. He was sentenced to five years in prison on that, although drugs found at the time of the arrest lead to a 20-year sentence.
* On Jan. 16, several vehicles were broken into on Queen Kaahumanu Highway near the 81 mile marker. There, Kaimiola and other defendants broke into several closed and locked cars, said deputy prosecuting attorney Kuanoe Jackson.
Dyllan Paulo-Leslie, 22, Captain Cook, was also arrested there, on theft and unlawful use of personal information charges.
For the victims, it led to more than just damaged vacations, Jackson said, as it violated their perception of safety.
One elderly couple “spent the last day on this island scrambling to find clothes,” Jackson said.
The victims were not people who would shrug off losses like this, she said.
“Everyone worked hard for their money. Everyone worked hard for their vacations,” she said.
Kaimiola’s court-appointed attorney, Kanani Laubach, argued for probation, saying that this would serve as the final chance for her client, who had been on parole before.
A former prosecutor, Laubach said spending days with his 10-year-old son and seeing his 15-month-old son had made a major change in Kaimiola’s life, she said. Additionally, treatment for his recently identified mental health issues and his acknowledged drug addiction, will allow him to recover.
Kaimiola said he was willing to plead guilty to everything consecutively, effectively a life sentence, if allowed to go on probation.
“I know in my heart I am ready to give back to my community instead of one who takes,” he said.
This was the last chance he had and the one he needed, he said. Finding God and seeing his son had made a massive turnaround, he said.
“God put strength in me I didn’t have before,” he said.
Kaimiola read a handwritten letter, explaining he found speaking to a judge difficult and he didn’t want to leave anything out.
He apologized to the victims.
“Being locked up, (I) felt the loss of all they did,” he said, adding that he had “full remorse for what I did.”
He also explained why probation would be best.
“I do not need prison time, because that obviously it didn’t help me at all. I have an addiction, a disease that needs treatment,” he said.
Being out will allow him to go to the treatment he needs, he said, and prison was a place with constant criminal discussion that stunted personal development.
“Mr. Kaimiola, I hear you, you sound sincere and you sound remorseful,” said Judge Ronald Ibarra when he was finished speaking.
But the judge was cautious about probation, which didn’t work previously.
“You went on a crime spree,” he said, adding Ibarra said there were numerous factors involved in the decision, including the “multitude of charges, multitude of victims, disregard for others, previous probation, previous furlough,”
He also highlighted Kaimiola’s admittance to treatment in 2002, which apparently had no effect now.
Ibarra continued to explore the possibility, closing with “anything else, Mr. Kaimiola?”
“I’m asking and begging you for a chance, please,” he said, adding that there were numerous factors involved in the decision, including the “multitude of charges, multitude of victims, disregard for others, previous probation, previous furlough, and the sentence was, in part, to protect the public.
* Graham was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his part in the thefts.
* Logan Kahele-Bishop, 25, Naalehu, was also considered part of the spree by police. He spent some time as one of the “Big Island’s Most Wanted” before his arrest.