LIHUE — Clayton Kona, formerly of Waimea, was sentenced to five years in prison with credit for time served Tuesday for charges stemming from his involvement in the 2016 death of Jon Togioka of Kekaha.
“The judge imposed the maximum sentence for each of the two felonies, open five-year terms for each, although he declined our request to run them consecutively,” said Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar. “He ran them concurrently instead.”
Through tears, Catherine Togioka, Jon Togioka’s step-mom, read a victim impact statement to Chief Judge Randall Valenciano,on behalf of Shelsy Sasaki, Jon Togioka’s girlfriend and the mother of his children.
“I have waited one year, five months and 24 days for this day to come, in which during this time I have spent countless hours, days and nights crying, trying to comprehend what has happened,” she said.
Though she is broken from the murder of her boyfriend, Sasaki said she’s trying to put herself back together for her children. She said she fears so much right now because when her children can comprehend and understand what murder is, she’ll have to tell them about their father’s homicide.
Togioka was 34 when he was was found dead Nov. 1, 2016 near Port Allen Airport. An autopsy confirmed he sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
“I have to tell them the truth and it kills me inside, everyday thinking about how I will tell them, what will their reaction be and what will I say? When should I say it? This haunts me everyday,” she said.
When her daughter talks about her father, or sees a photo of him, Sasaki said they cry.
“Our happiness was taken from us when Jon was murdered,” she said.
Defense attorney Mark Zenger implored his client be placed on supervised probation instead of serving more time in prison. He said it was a drug house and stupid stuff happens in drug houses.
The result, Zenger said, was the tragic death of a person.
“Who shot him? We know who shot him. Why did he shoot him, well, we don’t know why because it’s stupid, crystal meth, idiotic dumb stuff that happens when people do that drug and engage in that lifestyle, nothing more and nothing less,” Zenger said.
What Kona did, Zenger told the court, was hide the gun and lie to the police.
As for the homicide, Zenger said Kona had no involvement with it.
In a statement to the court, Kona apologized for lying to the police and hiding the gun and asked for probation so that he can help his girlfriend raise their baby.
“I’m sorry for everything I’ve done,” he said.
Kollar said they were seeking consecutive five-year sentences because the conduct Kona plead guilty to involved separate conducts and separate states of mind and separate acts in different times.
One of those acts, Kollar said, was being in possession of an unregistered, dangerous gun that was left unsecured in a home that was inhabited by him, his newborn child and a number of transient drug users.
“Including the man that was just found guilty of committing murder. He fired that gun into the air on Oct. 29, in an attempt to intimidate Jon Togioka. Two days later, that gun was used by Koma Texeira, to murder Jon. The defendant gave him that gun,” Kollar said.
Kollar said even if Kona is given the maximum sentence, he will still get to see his child grow up when he is released from prison.
“Jon’s parents won’t get that anymore. Jon’s girlfriend won’t have that anymore. Jon’s daughter won’t get to share those moments with her daddy,” Kollar said. “That’s what the defendant did. That’s what he took away from that family. That’s what he took away from this community.”
In his sentencing, Valenciano stated there were some limitations because Kona entered into a plea bargain that let him plead to two C class felonies.
“Mr. Kona, I know you’re requesting probation, but that would be too generous of the court to give you that,” Valenciano said.
Koma Texeira, who was recently convicted of the homicide, is scheduled for sentencing in July.
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Bethany Freudenthal, Courts, Crime and County reporter, 652-7891 or bfreudenthal@thegardenisland.com
