LIHU’E – While one repeat offender asked for one more chance, another begged the judge to just sentence him so he could walk out of the courtroom for what he said would be the last time. Bradley David Pundyke, charged
LIHU’E – While one repeat offender asked for one more chance, another begged the judge to just sentence him so he could walk out of the courtroom for what he said would be the last time.
Bradley David Pundyke, charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and an escape from the Kauai Community Correctional Center in Wailua that touched off an island-wide manhunt, asked Judge George Masuoka for one more chance, said he was sorry for the trouble he had caused, and promised “nothing like this will ever happen again.”
If it does happen again, it likely won’t be until sometime near the end of this decade, as Masuoka gave him five-year terms each for the firearms and escape charges, minus time already served, to run consecutive to his current term in jail on family-abuse charges.
The two, five-year terms will be served concurrently.
Attorney Peter Morimoto had asked for probation and time served on the weapons charge, arguing that the gun found in Pundyke’s truck wasn’t his, but a hunting buddy’s who had left it in his truck after a hunting trip.
Public defender Ed Acoba could offer no valid reason for the escape, and Masuoka imposed his punishment, after rattling off a long list of Pundyke convictions beginning with juvenile arrests and escalating to adult convictions for sex abuse, two counts of family abuse, multiple burglaries, disorderly conduct, and other crimes.
On sentencing day when there were so many criminals in court it took two van trips to get them all between the courthouse and the jail, another lifetime criminal, Al Pacheco, convicted for theft, literally begged Judge Clifford Nakea to just sentence him, as he was tired of appearing before the court, where he continually heard what a bad man he is.
Nakea obliged, handing Pacheco a five-year sentence, plus one year, to run concurrently but not begining until after Pacheco if done serving time for previous crimes. Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho asked for a mandatory minimum sentence.
Ernest Simon Silva, III, convicted of theft, burglary, firearms violations, criminal property damage among seven total counts, apologized for what he did, but still got 10 years on the theft charge, minus time served.
Iseri-Carvalho asked for the 10-year theft term, saying Silva had prior arrests both as a juvenile and adult. The other charges were dropped in exchange for the guilty felony theft plea.
Felix Louis Gusman, Jr., convicted of escape, bail jumping and habitually driving under the influence of alcohol, in a plea agreement got a five-year term on the charges. Acoba said his client is motivated to get into a substance-abuse program behind bars.
Sentencing is set for June 13 for Scott Lizama, who agreed to plead guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia and terroristic threatening in exchange for prosecutors dropping charges for resisting arrest and various felony drug charges associated with crystal methamphetamine (ice).
Lizama also agreed to testify against co-defendants Jason Martins and Wayne Perreira, after police executing a search warrant on the Martins home found an ice pipe on Lizama, according to Prosecuting Attorney Michael Soong.
The terroristic threatening charge resulted from an incident in Kapa’a where Lizama allegedly threatened a woman with a baseball bat, Soong said.
Richard Edgar Neuberger, charged with three counts of terroristic threatening, apologized for his actions, and accepted a year’s probation, $100 fine, $75 probation fee, and agreed to submit to random drug and alcohol testing.
The court took under advisement a request to spare Royce Kaauwai jail time on various charges, as congestive heart failure has led to doctors giving him only around 18 more months of life on earth, according to public defender James Itamura.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
