KAILUA-KONA — Walter Gomes III, the man police suspect in a Kona shooting case, has three criminal convictions on his record, according to the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center.
None of those, however, are higher than a misdemeanor.
Gomes’ most recent conviction is from November 2017, when the man was found guilty in Kona District Court of promoting a detrimental drug, third degree, a petty misdemeanor. He was fined $250.
Gomes also has two convictions from 2014.
That July, he was found guilty in Kona District Court, this time of criminal contempt of court, a misdemeanor. He was confined for two days and fined less than $100.
He was convicted in Hilo District Court that October of failure to appear, a petty misdemeanor. Gomes was sentenced to three days’ confinement.
A check of court records turned up at least 20 cases dating to 2017 that have been initiated against Walter Gomes III. In all, nearly 80 violations were counted for various traffic crimes and infractions, including the charges of contempt of court, failure to appear and drug promotion for which he was convicted.
The most cited violations were for driving without or having an improper license; no motor vehicle safety check; failure to have motor vehicle insurance; fraudulent use of license plate, decal or emblem; not registering/transferring ownership of a vehicle within 30 days; delinquent vehicle tax; and no license plate or an obstructed or dirty license plate, among others.
Not all of the cases and violations resulted in conviction, however. Five cases comprising more than a dozen violations were dismissed and prosecutors withdrew one case with two violations.
Five cases remained open, all relating to traffic infractions and crimes. He is next due in court April 3 for arraignment and plea in Hilo.
He last appeared in court on Feb. 7 before District Court Judge Margaret Masunaga in Kona, according to court records. On that date, prosecutors dismissed a charge of failure to have car insurance and he was set to return on Feb. 19 to enter his plea to driving with an improper license. He did not appear in court that day, and both cases were ultimately dismissed upon motion by prosecutors.
When he did not appear for a case on Feb. 27 in South Kohala District Court, he was reached by phone and said he was unable to appear due to personal reasons, according to court records. He was warned of a bench warrant, but none was ordered. The next hearing in the case is April 3 during which he’s expected to enter his plea to operating a car, bus, truck or van without a license and failure to have car insurance.
In another separate case with the same two charges, a $300 bench warrant was ordered March 5 when he did not appear in South Kohala District Court.
