LIHUE — A Kapaa man will spend nine months in jail and five years on probation for three second-degree theft charges and forgery.
Clyde Vincent Higa, 30, was convicted in three cases of going online to contact people who were selling items and then either tricking, threatening or taking the items from the victims and running off. He was sentenced in a fourth case of forging a counterfeit $100 bill that he tried to pass to an area grocer.
The court on Wednesday denied Higa’s request for a deferred acceptance of his no-contest plea, but did grant his motion to be sentenced as a first-time property offender — which makes him eligible for drug addiction treatment programs as a non-violent offender.
State Deputy Public Defender John Calma said the offenses were related to the defendant’s poor decision to go off the medications he was given to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder that resulted from a street fight.
Higa served in the U.S. Marines and was discharged for illegal steroid use, according to Calma. He is on full disability and is attempting to have his disability recognized as service-connected eligible with the Veterans Administration.
“I hope you appreciate Mr. Calma’s advocacy for you to be sentenced in this fashion,” said Judge Kathleen Watanabe.
The court included an order of restitution requested in the sentencing as requested by County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Vogt.
Higa must pay $1,248.96 to the owner of a iMac laptop that he took after paying for it with an envelope full of stuffed paper. He must pay $400 for a Nikon camera that he ran off with after meeting the owner to buy the item, along with another $700 for an 32GB iPad2 that he took after asking the seller if he could first show his wife and then never returned.
In one of the crimes, Higa was identified by police after investigators lifted a fingerprint he left on the victim’s car door. The thefts occurred on Jan. 26 and March 27, 2012, and again on Feb. 19, 2013. The counterfeit bill offense occurred on June 24, 2013. Higa was arrested on Oct. 22, 2013.
“What is disturbing is the lengths that this defendant went to in order to deceive and steal from people, and we hope this defendant doesn’t squander this opportunity to straighten his life out,” said County Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar. “We again urge the public to please exercise caution when meeting with strangers from online to buy or sell goods.”
Vogt said the defendant is remorseful but does not take responsibility for his actions. She said the state recommended probation with nine months jail, along with a substance abuse assessment.
Watanabe emphasized to Higa that he comply with the conditions of probation or face a possible five-year prison sentence for the felony charges with a revocation.
