Timothy Swanson, 34, of Kapa’a, asked Fifth Circuit Court Judge Clifford Nakea not to send him back to jail. Swanson, who was charged with theft in the second degree, a felony, for collecting welfare without reporting the employed mother of
Timothy Swanson, 34, of Kapa’a, asked Fifth Circuit Court Judge Clifford Nakea not to send him back to jail.
Swanson, who was charged with theft in the second degree, a felony, for collecting welfare without reporting the employed mother of his children was back in their house — a disqualifier for welfare eligibility — told Nakea Tuesday he was sorry for his actions.
And his attorney, public defender Ed Acoba, told the judge that Swanson was raising his two children alone and had a big heart. Acoba said Swanson allowed his ex back into his home because she had nowhere else to live when she returned to Kaua’i.
“His generosity got him in trouble,” Acoba said.
But Craig De Costa, Kaua’i County chief deputy prosecutor, said that when welfare officials asked Swanson if anyone was sharing the home with him, “he lied.”
De Costa asked for more jail time for Swanson, and Nakea agreed. The judge sentenced Swanson to 30 days in jail in addition to time already served, plus five years probation, 300 hours of community service and restitution of the $14,190 authorities said he received from welfare illegally.
Swanson was taken into custody and went directly to jail.
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net
