Hawai'i Legal News

  State v. Luke (ICA April 17, 2020) Background. Alik Luke was tried for attempted burglary in the first degree, burglary in the first degree, and unauthorized possession of confidential personal information. The charges stem from the break-in of two residences: the Yamamotos and a residence occupied by Kyle Shimoda. At trial, the prosecution wanted to surveillance footage from the Yamamotos’ surveillance cameras which allegedly revealed Luke in the backyard and footage from Shimoda showing a person entering the property and leaving with a suitcase. Luke was also arrested and told the police that he did not know anything about the suitcase, just saw a battery in a backyard, and “something about cousin Jeff at a storage locker.” The circuit court determined this statement was inadmissible at trial.   At trial, Yamamoto testified that he and his wife are the only ones with access to the recorded data on his video surveillance cameras. They can access it from either their ...

  State v. Rosa (ICA August 31, 2020) Background. Keoni Rosa was charged with continuous sexual assault of a minor and sexual assault in the first degree. The complainant’s mother called the police to report a sexual assault that occurred when the complainant was thirteen years old—about a year before the incident. The police interviewed the complainant and the mother. Both reported multiple instances of sexual assault and identified Rosa as the assailant. The complainant reported communications over cellular telephones including exchanging “naked photos” and explicit texts. The police learned that the complainant’s mother erased the text messages and images and the phone was out of service. A detective followed up with a further investigation. The complainant again identified Rosa as the assailant.   Weeks later, a different detective went out to arrest Rosa, but could not find him. In the meantime a detective served a subpoena on cellular phone providers for text mess...