Plea dealing begins for gas station robbery suspects

LIHU‘E — A defendant in the January Koloa Chevron robbery case has pleaded guilty, while another intends to change his plea, and two others are seeking to suppress evidence.

The cases are not consolidated but the hearings were held one after another Monday in 5th Circuit Court. It was to be their jury trial day.

Clarence Montgomery Ka-Ne II, 21, of Koloa, was the first to appear. He entered his change of plea to guilty of an amended charge of second-degree robbery. The plea deal reduced the charge from a first-degree offense, and a second charge of attempted second-degree theft was dismissed by the state.

In his statement to the court, Ka-Ne said that he was present at the crime Jan. 4, and that he did participate in some of the things that occurred that night.

Ka-Ne is represented by attorney Caren Dennemeyer. She entered a motion for a deferred acceptance of the guilty plea and the sentencing date was set for Sept. 26.

County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Melinda Mendes represented the state. In exchange for the guilty plea the state will not object to the deferment motion, which would remove the felony charges after successful completion of probation.

Judge Kathleen N. A. Watanabe said the Class B felony has a maximum 10 years imprisonment and up to a $25,000 fine. However, given the five-year probation announced in the plea deal, the maximum jail term for Ka-Ne would be up to 18 months.

Ka-Ne reappeared before the court at the end of the calendar to work out the details of a supervised release that could begin as early as Tuesday.

The judge said not everyone facing his charges gets this advantage and said decision was helped by the plea deal and his very supportive family’s assurances.

The court does not have to sentence according to the plea, Watanabe said. If Ka-Ne were to violate the terms he would sit in jail until his sentencing, and that it would not look good for his deferment request.

Ka-Ne was denied supervised release at an April 4 hearing, where Watanabe reduced bail to $50,000 in the alternative.

Josiah Kaluna, 18, of Koloa, is also intending to change his plea. However the offer came just prior to the hearing.

His attorney, State Deputy Public Defender Stephanie Sato, requested more time to review it with him. The court set a plea date for Wednesday.

There was no mention of accepting a plea deal from Mason Noah Saio, 20, of Kalaheo. He will be in court again for a hearing on July 26, and his new trial date is set for July 30.

Defense attorney June Ikemoto filed a motion to suppress the line-up identification of Saio. She said it was prejudicial.

Mendes objected to having the time to the July 26 hearing being charged to the state. She said the defense filed its motion on the trial date and that it should not count against the right to speedy trial.

Watanabe said the hearing is to consider the motion. In addition, she said the defense has had difficulty receiving discovery evidence in a timely manner.

Ikemoto said she intends to file more motions by the next hearing.

Represented by attorney Gregory Meyers, the final co-defendant was Kalai Hans Vicente, 18, of Kapa‘a. He is entering the same suppression motions and will be in court again July 26.

Watanabe denied a motion to reduce bail for Vicente on April 18. He, along with Saio and Kaluna remain in custody at Kaua‘i County Correctional Center with bail set at $100,000.

The defendants are being tried separately for a violent early morning robbery that included theft and property damage. Each was charged with first-degree robbery and attempted second-degree theft.

Saio and Vicente each face an additional count of third-degree assault. Vicente is accused of brandishing of a hunting knife and punching the store manager, while Saio is accused of kicking him.

Kaluna faces additional charges of fourth-degree criminal property damage and two counts of third-degree assault.

The theft included cash, wine, cigarettes and other store items.