LIHU‘E — A defendant from the Nawiliwili ATM theft case was sentenced to 10 years prison Thursday in 5th Circuit Court. Alvin Hoichi Isobe, 49, of Kapa‘a, entered a guilty plea on July 31 to first-degree theft of an automatic
LIHU‘E — A defendant from the Nawiliwili ATM theft case was sentenced to 10 years prison Thursday in 5th Circuit Court.
Alvin Hoichi Isobe, 49, of Kapa‘a, entered a guilty plea on July 31 to first-degree theft of an automatic teller machine at Anchor Cove Shopping Center during the early morning hours of Sept. 26, 2011. He and a co-defendant reportedly secured the ATM to a vehicle and pulled the machine from its concrete foundation.
On Thursday, Chief Judge Randal Valenciano sentenced Isobe to 10 years for the B-felony charge and to a concurrent 5-year sentence for a second-degree theft charge stemming from a Feb. 6 incident at Kmart.
Isobe, who has been in custody since his arrest, was represented by attorneys Mark Zenger and Michael Soong in three separate cases before the court. Charges of third-degree dangerous drugs, harassment, third-degree assault and criminal property damage were dropped in the plea deal.
County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Murphy represented the state.
Isobe received the maximum jail time for each charge. He could have received an extended 30-year sentence for two felony convictions.
The co-defendant, Joseph Kaumauali‘i Rapozo III, 27, of Anahola, is currently held in federal detention on other charges and his Aug. 20 trial date for the state charge was continued pending the outcome of the federal matter.
Rapozo was arrested Sept. 29, 2011, and charged with first- and second-degree theft and fourth-degree criminal property damage in connection with the ATM robbery. He is also charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest, probation violations, second-degree assault of a police officer and second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug.
The ATM is the property of Financial Consulting and Trading International of Los Angeles. A Loomis employee reported the machine missing during an early morning servicing call.
Management said the stolen ATM was a replacement of a previous machine that was damaged during a failed theft attempt in April 2010.
• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
