Hawai'i Legal News

  State v. Spies (HSC September 16, 2025). Jonathan Spies was stopped by the police as he stepped out of his truck in the Foodland parking lot in Waimea on the Big Island. Sierra Valderrama was in the passenger seat. The officer had him sit in the back of his pickup while backup showed up. When they did, they told Spies they had a warrant to search his person —and nothing else. They did not have a warrant to search the vehicle.   They executed the warrant and had Valderrama get out of the truck. The police found nothing on Spies. Officer Justin Gaspar asked Spies if he could search his truck. Spies did not respond with a “yes” or “no” answer. He said something to the effect of “it’s all in there” or “everything that you guys are looking for is in there.” Officer Gaspar asked him  to clarify what he meant and Spies said that it was in his wallet. Spies did not consent to a search of the truck. The police held him for another three minutes after executing the warrant. T...

State v. Means (HSC June 29, 2020) Background. Mark Means was prosecuted for shoplifting from Sears at the Queen Kaahumanu Shopping Center in Kahului, Maui. The prosecution filed the charging document on September 8, 2015 for an incident that occurred on September 2, 2015. At trial, the prosecution called Arthur Wake, an “asset protection manager” at Sears. Wake testified that he saw Means through security cameras carrying items like a tent and tools throughout the store. He watched him walk out of the store. Wake stopped him in the parking lot. He identified himself and asked him to put the items back. Means put them on the ground and walked away. Wake called the police and reported the incident. Wake testified he took the recovered items back into the store and took pictures of the items. His pictures were admitted as evidence at trial. The pictures do not show any tags or labels indicating the sales price or value. He did testify that there was “spider wrap” on one of the items...

State v. Texeira (HSC June 19, 2020) Background. Koma Texeira was charged with the murder of Jon Togioka. Togioka was shot on Halloween night with a .22-caliber firearm near Hanapepe, Kauai. Texiera and four others were arrested. Texeria was indicted for murder in the second degree and firearms offenses. In the same indictment, Clayton Kona was charged with firearms offenses. Kona pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution in the first degree and a firearms charge in exchange for testifying in the case against Texeira. Prior to trial, the prosecution filed a motion to determine the voluntariness of a statement purported to be by Texeira. It was a letter written in jail. The prosecution included a declaration stating that the letter states that Texeira shot Togioka in self-defense and that the letter was given to Kona. Texeira opposed the motion on the grounds that the letter was not disclosed until 280 days after the prosecution learned about the letter and one month before trial. At...

State v. Tsujimura (ICA January 27, 2016) Background. Lester Tsujimura was charged with a single count of operating a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant in violation of HRS § 291E-61(a)(1). Officer Thomas Billins was on duty in his “blue and white” when he saw Tsujimura driving on the Moanalua Freeway. Tsujimura was operating an SUV on the far right lane when Officer Billins saw him swerve onto the fog line on the right. Then the SUV moved across the lane and straddled the white divider lane on the left side. Officer Billins saw Tsujimura do this “several times” before he pulled him over. When he approached the SUV he saw Tsujimura as the operator of the vehicle and saw that he had “a very flush red face,” slurred speech, and red, watery eyes. He also smelled the odor of an alcoholic drink coming from his breath and vehicle. Officer Billins asked him to get out of the car to perform the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). Tsujimura informed Billins that ...

State v. Apollonio (HSC October 10, 2013) Background. Ricardo Apollonio was charged with excessive speeding. HRS § 291C-105(a)(1). The complaint and oral arraignment failed to allege the requisite state of mind. In other words, there was nothing in the charging instrument indicating that the conduct was done intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly. At trial, the HPD officer testified that he cited Apollonio for excessive speeding after using the LTI 20-20 laser gun ( check itout here ). The officer testified that he was using the laser gun and that he was trained to operate the gun. He said that his training consisted of “class work, going over the operator’s manual, and hands-on time with the laser itself.” His trainer was another HPD officer. The officer testified that the manual was provided by the manufacturer and Apollonio objected on the grounds that the officer lacked the personal knowledge and hearsay. The district court overruled the objection on the grounds that “thos...

State v. Gonzalez (HSC November 28, 2012) Background. Jose R. Gonzalez was charged with excessive speeding. HRS § 291C-105(a). At his arraignment, he was orally charged with the following: [Gonzalez,] you're charged with on or about the 14th of January, 2011, in the City and County of Honolulu, State of Hawaii, you did drive a motor vehicle at a speed exceeding the applicable State of Hawaii or county speed limit by 30 miles per hour or more and/or 80 miles per hour or more irrespective of the applicable State of Hawai'i or county speed limit. By doing so you violated Section 291C-105(a)(1) and/or (a)(2) of the Hawai'i Revised Statutes. Gonzalez orally moved to dismiss the charge on the grounds that the charge failed to state the requisite state of mind. The prosecution argued that state of mind is not required. The motion was denied. At trial, HPD Officer Jeremy Franks testified that on the H-2 Freeway just before the Mililani Mauka off-ramp he used his Laser T...

State v. Eid (HSC January 26, 2012) Background. Hatem Eid was charged with excessive speeding. HRS § 291C-105(a)(1). At trial, the prosecution called Roy and Duane Ozaki as expert witnesses. The Ozakis owned and operated Roy's Automotive. They are licensed automotive mechanics and certified automobile technicians. Roy Ozaki testified that only he and Duane perform speed checks cars for HPD. At trial, Roy explained that to check the accuracy of the speed of a car, with a method called the speedometer dynamometer. He places the car on a bed of rollers. A cable connects the rollers to a master head with a speedometer. The car is started and rolls on the rollers, which causes the cable to give a reading to the master head. No computer software is involved. During this test, the speedometer in the vehicle is compared with the reading on the master head. Roy compares the reading at 10-mile-per-hour increments from 25 mph to 95 mph. Roy further testified that in 2007, he noticed th...

State v. Forman (ICA September 8, 2011) Background. Stephen Forman was charged with unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle. HRS § 708-836. Police found Forman riding a moped on Ala Wai Boulevard. The officers stopped him because the moped's decal was partially missing, which is indicative to them of a stolen moped. Forman told them that he had just rented the moped, but he did not have the paperwork on him. The police traced the moped back to Adventure on 2 Wheels. They also learned that the moped was missing, but not reported stolen. At trial, Kim Voight of the rental company testified that in order to rent a moped from he company, a renter has to verify that he or she is over 18 years old and provide the company with a driver's license. The renter must also provide a credit card for a deposit, but may actually pay in cash. The customer is then given a contract with a pre-printed number on it, which is subsequently signed by the customer. The cont...