Matthew Davidson, the 27-year-old California man who tried to swim to Ni’ihau in June from Kaua’i, has been granted a deferred acceptance in Fifth Circuit Court after a judge said he’d been in jail too long on charges that he
Matthew Davidson, the 27-year-old California man who tried to swim to Ni’ihau in June from Kaua’i, has been granted a deferred acceptance in Fifth Circuit Court after a judge said he’d been in jail too long on charges that he broke into a North Shore business that same month.
Davidson pleaded no-contest Thursday to a reduced charge of criminal trespassing and theft in the fourth degree, both misdemeanors.
The charges stemmed from an incident June 16 when Davidson was discovered inside Java Kai in Hanalei at approximately 12:45 a.m., according to authorities who said Davidson told them he was toasting a bagel when police officers arrived.
“I was going to pay for it in the morning, but what I did was wrong,” Davidson told Judge Clifford Nakea.
Davidson had first pleaded innocent to the charges, but he changed his plea to no-contest.
Davidson was represented by prominent Honolulu attorney Howard Luke, who noted Davidson had been in jail for more than three months for what amounted to stealing a bagel he never ate.
Luke said “I might be upset” if that had happened to him, but Davidson “has never complained. Above all, he is a good person. He genuinely cares for people, especially the Hawaiian people.”
Nakea acknowledged that Davidson had “served more time than is necessary” and sentenced the defendant to undergo a psychological evaluation at Kaua’i Community Mental Health and follow all the center’s treatment recommendations. Davidson said in court that he suffers from bi-polar disorder.
Nakea also ordered Davidson to pay a $75 fine and make restitution in the amount of $4.55 for the uneaten bagel and condiments.
Davidson attempted the hazardous swim from Kaua’i to Ni’ihau in June as what he called a demonstration of goodwill toward Native Hawaiians. He was pulled from the water by a Coast Guard crew who feared for his safety.
