LIHUE — A Kilauea man pleaded not guilty Thursday to a laundry list of weapons-related felonies.
Pinuu Sexton, 47, was arraigned on 16 counts — 14 Class B felonies and a couple misdemeanors — for allegedly having two rifles and an unspecified number of bullets, according to charging documents.
The litany of charges could land Sexton in jail for a very long time. Because of his criminal record — Sexton pleaded no contest to a gun possession charge last year — each of the felonies could carry decades-long, extended prison sentences.
“If convicted of this offense or any included felony offense,” the felony complaint prosecutors filed last week says, Sexton “may be sentenced to a mandatory minimum period of imprisonment without the possibility of parole.”
Charging documents in the case reveal few details about the events leading to Sexton’s arrest. The complaint says only that he was in possession of a “WASR type rifle” — a Romanian, semi-automatic assault weapon — and a Winchester. The remaining dozen felonies are for the ammunition.
Sexton allegedly had three different types of bullets in his possession — 7.62-, .338- and .44-caliber rounds — although the exact number is somewhat ambiguous. At least three of the charges appear to be for a single bullet.
Sexton’s prior conviction started with an incident in February 2015, when police said they pulled Sexton over for not wearing a seat belt and approached the vehicle to find him putting a can of Coors Light on the floor of his Jeep, according to a memo attached to the plea offer Sexton later signed, agreeing to two weeks in jail and several years probation.
The letter addressed to Sexton’s lawyer continued, “Your client also had a large wet area on the front of his pants which he related was not urine, but beer that he spilled while trying to hide his beer can from the police.”
The officers then noticed a revolver on the floorboard between Sexton’s feet and saw a pistol grip sticking out from under the driver’s seat. They later learned that both high-caliber handguns — a .357 magnum CTG revolver and a stainless steel Colt Anaconda .44 magnum — “were loaded with several rounds of ammunition.”
Sexton’s trial is tentatively scheduled for late November. Bail is set at $100,000.
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Caleb Loehrer, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0441 or cloehrer@thegardenisland.com.
