LIHU‘E — A federal judge denied former Kaua‘i County Councilmember Arthur Brun’s plea deal Thursday, saying a 15-year prison sentence was too lenient for his crimes.
Last November, Brun, 50, pleaded guilty to 10 charges related to running a drug trafficking ring on Kaua‘i in a deal that carried a 15-year prison term without parole, but the deal was subject to approval from U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson.
“The parties agreed to a substantial 15 years out of a man’s life in federal prison,” said Brun’s attorney Rustam Barbee. “But the judge ruled that it was insufficient.”
The decision came as a surprise to Barbee, who called it “unusual,” and cited the example of Katherine Kealoha, a former deputy prosecutor for the City and County of Honolulu, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison in a significant public corruption case.
Now, it’s back to square one for Barbee and federal prosecutors, who will need to strike a new deal with a longer sentence for Brun, or take the case to trial.
‘Careless and reckless’
A sitting council member, Brun was arrested by Kaua‘i Police in Nov. 2019 after a brief car chase in which Brun injured a Kaua‘i Police Department officer who was attempting to remove the keys from Brun’s ignition.
A Walmart bag filled with more than 500 grams of meth and distribution paraphernalia was recovered along Brun’s escape route.
While out on bail, a few months later, he was involved in a car accident where he crossed the center-line, injuring himself, another driver, and a six-year-old boy.
Brun was indicted in February 2020 along with 11 others, and charged with felonies ranging from drug distribution, assault of a federal officer, attempting to obtain a weapon for a felon, and evidence and witness tampering.
Brun allegedly sold meth to feed his own addiction, a statement backed up by a sentencing memo from District of Hawai‘i U.S. Attorney Clare Connors, which listed this as a factor in advocating for the 15-year sentence.
While abusing drugs, Brun would descend into criminal activity as seen both in the recent case and in additional arrests in the early 2000s, according to the memo. But he was not shown to have participated in any illegal activity when he was substance-free.
“That supports the conclusion that substance abuse treatment can play a role in mitigating the risk of recidivism, that a somewhat shorter sentence can accomplish the remaining goals of sentencing,” the memo reads.
Connors also concluded that “there is no evidence suggesting that Brun made any significant amount of money from his drug trafficking activities,” a fact that “(underscored) that his drug trafficking activity arose in the context of his renewed substance abuse.”
The memo identified Brun as a “careless and reckless” trafficker, who would spend entire days not participating in illegal activities because he was recovering from heavy drug use.
The government learned from other cooperating witnesses that Brun “was required to pay a premium for the methamphetamine he received, given the greater risks that dealing with him entailed.”
Associates
Prior to his descent into substance abuse, Brun was active in the community, giving anti-drug talks at schools, coaching youth sports, advocating for rehab centers, and working with Kaua‘i Community Corrections Center inmates in the work-release program.
One of these inmates was Maluelue “Malu” Umu, who was named in the indictment as one of Brun’s main meth suppliers.
According to court documents, Brun met Umu during his work at KCCC, where the then-councilmember would drive inmates to community service activities.
Umu, a “shot-caller” with United Samoan Organization, reconnected with Brun after he was released and began to supply him with large quantities of meth in Walmart bags. Umu would pay $6,000 to $7,000 for the meth and charged Brun about $9,000.
He pleaded guilty to drug charges in June 2021.
Brun also was supplied by Kaniu Huihui and Roberta Spanne, charged separately, who would ship meth to Kaua‘i from the mainland.
A shipment intercepted at Lihu‘e Airport in November 2019 contained about 678 grams of meth with a purity of 99%. In total, officers seized four kilos of meth and thousands of dollars in cash from those involved during the investigation.
The indictment also named Phrystal Bacia, Kelvin Kauwila Kai, Steven Keli‘ikuli, Sheena Millare, Efren Yanos, Kirsten Makanoe, Orlando Manguchei, Robby Silva, and Haidee Sueyasu.
Two individuals, Orlando Manguchei and Steven Keli‘ikuli pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy this month, Manguchei for working with Brun to attempt to acquire a weapon as a felon, and Keli‘ikuli for meth distribution.
Brun is set to appear before Judge Watson again on May 5 at 8:30 a.m. at the U.S. district court on O‘ahu.
Put him away and throw away the key!