Woman’s shift of blame doesn’t work Linda Apo’s attorney told a sad story in court, but it was a judge’s sentence that made the accused credit card thief cry. With Apo in tears, Fifth Circuit Court Judge Clifford Nakea last
Woman’s shift of blame doesn’t work
Linda Apo’s attorney told a sad story in court, but it was a judge’s sentence that made the accused credit card thief cry.
With Apo in tears, Fifth Circuit Court Judge Clifford Nakea last Tuesday ordered her to serve the equivalent of four months in jail and pay restitution.
Apo’s lawyer, Caren Dennemeyer, had asked for a deferred acceptance for her client, who pleaded no-contest to credit card theft and credit card fraud.
The attorney blamed most of Apo’s troubles on Phillip Nash, another defendant who was slated to testify against Apo, but didn’t show up for his own sentencing Aug. 2, much less for Apo’s.
“Phillip Nash came along” and made Apo “easy prey,” said Dennemeyer, who claimed Nash ran a drugs operation from Apo’s home.
Dennemeyer also blamed Nash for the spree Apo went on with a stolen credit card.
“She has made extremely bad choices with the men she gets involved with,” Dennemeyer said.
“I’m very sorry. I don’t know what happened,” Apo added in her own defense.
But Kaua’i County chief deputy prosecutor Craig de Costa told a story that was as different from Dennemeyer’s as day from night.
“The state strongly opposes deferred sentencing,” he said, and quoted Apo’s long criminal history which dates back almost 20 years: Assault, driving under the influence, driving with an invalid driver’s license and other misdemeanor offenses.
“Deferment is for people who deserve to keep their record clean, people who are not likely to reoffend. She is very likely to reoffend,” De Costa said. “She was the one who stole the credit card and used it at three different businesses.”
He also pointed out that Apo knew the people whose credit card she used. Dennemeyer had implied that was Nash’s fault, too.
Apo began crying as Nakea, who told her, “I don’t think you deserve deferred acceptance,” sentenced her to 120 days in jail and ordered her to pay restitution of $1,293. The prosecution had requested a year in jail.
Apo continued to cry after she was handcuffed before being led away.
Nash, defended by a note from his doctor, skipped his sentencing on drug charges. Nakea issued a bench warrant for Nash’s arrest and set a new bail at $10,000.
Nash was supposed to have been in Nakea’s courtroom Aug. 2. In his place was a letter from a chiropractor on Big Island, the locale Nash scooted to as soon as he was released from Kaua’i Community Correctional Center on bail last month. The letter claimed Nash would be back when he was healthy.
According to the letter, Nash can’t do any “prolonged sitting” longer than 15 minutes and no “prolonged standing” of more than 60 minutes.
“He’s going through a workman’s comp settlement,” said Nash’s attorney, public defender James Itamura.
Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net
