LEILA FUJIMORI / LFUJIMORI @STARADVERTISER.COM Patrick Hanawahine, left, was sentenced Thursday to four years of probation for reckless endangerment by Circuit Judge Kevin Souza. Deputy Public Defender Edward Aquino supported Hanawahine.
LEILA FUJIMORI / LFUJIMORI @STARADVERTISER.COM Patrick Hanawahine, left, was sentenced Thursday to four years of probation for reckless endangerment by Circuit Judge Kevin Souza. Deputy Public Defender Edward Aquino supported Hanawahine.
An Oahu Circuit Court judge on Thursday sentenced a 32-year-old man, originally charged with attempted murder, robbery and firearms charges for allegedly robbing and shooting a Kaneohe gas station customer in 2023, to four years’ probation on a charge of reckless endangerment. .
Judge Kevin Souza found that Patrick Hanawahine, while not completely innocent, did not commit the crimes he was originally charged with, and instead found that the complaining witness, Kevin Fitzgerald, 46 at the time, who first called the police, reported lies about Hanawahine and what happened. .
“I believe that by amending count 1 from attempted murder to reckless endangerment, the state is tacitly acknowledging that the events did not happen and are not even close to what the complainant alleged,” Souza said.
In addition to four years of probation, the judge gave the 32-year-old husband and father credit for the 477 days he served in jail awaiting trial.
In a June plea agreement, the state greatly reduced the attempted murder charge, which has a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole, to a class C felony of first-degree reckless endangerment. , punishable by up to five years in prison. prison. The state also dropped all other charges against him, including robbery and three weapons charges.
Souza said a sort of “mini-trial” was held in November. That’s when he heard and saw most of the evidence, including testimony from state witnesses, presented during a hearing on a motion to dismiss the indictment filed by his then-defense attorney, Deputy Public Defender Tiara Maumau.
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The judge said that based on the credible evidence presented, “Fitzgerald clearly lied to and misled police about what occurred that day.”
Souza said that regarding the attempted murder charge, in Fitzgerald’s version of what happened on March 9, 2023, he was a customer who stopped for gas at the Texaco gas station in the Windward City shopping center when, of out of nowhere, Hanawahine opened the F-250 passenger door and stole his wallet, cell phone, and cash.
Fitzgerald then gave chase and tried to apprehend the robbery suspect, he claimed.
Souza said surveillance cameras showed Fitzgerald stopped at the gas station and waited 20 minutes. It showed Hanawahine approaching, exchanging an envelope and sparking an argument.
Hanawahine walks away and Fitzgerald tries to physically stop him from leaving, the judge said. When Hanawahine runs, Fitzgerald chases him on foot, then gets into his truck and he or someone else in the truck chases Hanawahine.
“It is clear that shots were fired from Fitzgerald’s truck toward Hana Wahine,” the judge said.
To the extent Hanawahine returned fire, he had an apparently justifiable claim of self-defense, Souza said.
“This is a prime example of why we don’t take cases at face value,” Souza said. “The truth can be discovered through the judicial process.
“Fitzgerald, the so-called complainant, came to the police first. “In the opinion of this court, (the charges were based) on fraud, lies and misinformation provided to the police.”
Before the judge sentenced Hanawahine, Deputy Public Defender Edward Aquino said that if the case had gone to trial, the defense would have shown that “the real criminal is the alleged victim.”
Fitzgerald was the first to have access to police, and police took what he said at face value, Aquino said.
Fitzgerald is now in prison on drug charges in California, he said.
There is evidence that Fitzgerald had social media contact with Hanawahine and “the first aggressor is Mr. Fitzgerald,” Aquino said.
The Honolulu District Attorney’s Office said in a written statement: “Given the issues with plaintiff’s availability… the State made the plea offer to ensure that the defendant, Patrick Hanawahine, could be held accountable for his conduct that occurred on March 9, 2023.”
When Hanawahine was allowed supervised release on July 1, he was able to return to his family and show the court he could follow the rules, Aquino said.
He said Hanawahine had been diligently looking for work and two weeks ago found a full-time warehouse job.
Hanawahine thanked the court for the opportunity.
“I took the time to sit and reflect,” he said, adding that he has a couple of jobs. “I stayed consistent.”
His wife and one of his children accompanied him to court and sat in the gallery during the sentencing.
The judge noted that Hanawahine had three previous criminal convictions, but they occurred some time ago.
“He’s at a different point in his life, with several children,” Souza said. “His family supports him a lot. His priority in his life is to take care of his family.”
He said such circumstances are unlikely to be repeated.
“If he were sentenced to prison, it would cause undue hardship for his family,” Souza said.
The judge waived court fees and restitution, and explained probation rules that included Hanawahine staying away from drugs and alcohol, and ordered a random urinalysis.
“I understand that his role in this case is nowhere near what is alleged, but … he should never have been there,” Souza said.
