Kapa’a man pleads no contest to three felony charges

LIHU’E —A Kapa’a resident pleaded no contest to three felony charges as part of a plea agreement Monday morning at the Lihu’e Fifth Circuit Court.

Travis Shimomura, 36, who appeared by phone from the O’ahu Community Correctional Facility, took a plea agreement to three of his charges including ownership of a firearm by a convicted felon, terroristic threatening in the third degree, and possession of methamphetamine.

For the charges, Shimomura is eligible for an extended term of up to 40 years of imprisonment, but the state is not requesting the length of time.

Judge Kathleen Watanabe found Shimomura guilty on all three counts and ordered a diagnostic report scheduled for his sentencing on April 7, 2021.

Shimomura’s attorney Shaylene Iseri requested supervised release and a continuance of the hearing because he was accepted into the Salvation Army ARC with a bed space available Jan. 14, 2021, so he can start drug treatment.

The state didn’t object to the motion of supervised release and proposed a waiver of extradition so that Shimomura can sign the documents to return to Kaua’i for a court appearance.

According to an article written by The Garden Island in February of 2019, Shimomura was arrested after allegedly pulling a gun on people outside of St. Catherine School in Kapa’a.

Shimomura, with Kylie Lanning, 23, led police on a high-speed chase up Kawaihau Road after Shimomura allegedly threatened a man and a woman in front of St. Catherine School, not long before class let out for the school’s kindergarten through eighth-grade students.

Shimomura has an extensive criminal history dating back 18 years.

Court records show Shimomura pleaded guilty to two felony counts of forgery and a misdemeanor theft charge in 2003, for which he was sentenced to five years’ probation and six months in jail, minus time already served.

Nearly a year later, Shimomura was arrested for a parole violation and given an additional prison sentence.

According to the previous article, Shimomura was paroled about seven years later, but violated the conditions of his release and was again wanted by police prior to his arrest in February of 2019 detailing the alleged incident at St. Catherine School.

Shimomura’s next hearing on this matter will be Wednesday at 9 a.m. in Circuit Court, and he is scheduled for sentencing on April 7, 2021.

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Jason Blasco, reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.