A 34-year-old homeless man was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison for assaulting a police officer and threatening a Hilo convenience store clerk.
Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura imposed the sentence on Jamal K.K. Hauoli-Ontai, who pleaded no contest to the charges Feb. 4. In return for his plea, a charge of first-degree robbery — which carries a possible 20-year sentence — plus marijuana possession and resisting arrest were dropped.
Police say Hauoli-Ontai and another man entered the Kinoole Street 7-Eleven store about 3 a.m. Feb. 8, 2014. According to court documents, one of the men purchased drinks and paid for them with an Oregon EBT card. He also tried to buy a box of Newport cigarettes. The clerk, 25-year-old Felixon Kansou, requested $10.15 in cash. The man then asked Kansou to “front” him the cigarettes. When Kansou refused, the man reportedly told him, “You like me shoot your head off?”
The man allegedly leaned toward the cashier’s counter, lifted his shirt and exposed a small black handgun.
Documents state police recognized Hauoli-Ontai from the store’s surveillance video, and Kansou identified him from photographs.
Hauoli-Ontai’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Michael Ebesugawa, disputed that version of events.
“The clerk thought … Mr. Hauoli-Ontai had a gun, but videotape recordings of the confrontation … does not reveal any gun in this incident,” he said.
Police reportedly found Hauoli-Ontai about 5:40 a.m. at the Mooheau Bus Terminal in downtown Hilo.
Court documents state when Officer Jared Cabatu attempted to arrest Hauoli-Onta, he “rushed Officer Cabatu and began to engage in a physical fight.”
Ebesugawa said Hauoli-Ontai denied rushing the officer.
“In any event, a struggle occurred,” Ebesugawa said. “Officer Cabatu grabbed Mr. Ontai … and threw him over his right hip onto the ground. Mr. Ontai struggled and was thereupon arrested. There was no significant injuries to Officer Cabatu. Mr. Ontai, however, did suffer a cut eye.”
Ebesugawa asked the judge to grant his client probation and to release him from custody on time served, and noted Hauoli-Ontai “does suffer from mental health issues” exacerbated by drug use.
“These mental health issues are longstanding,” he said. “But to his credit, … Mr. Hauoli-Ontai does not have an extensive criminal record. The assault against a police officer in (2011) is his … first felony conviction.”
Hauoli-Ontai was on probation for a 2011 assault against Officer Wayne Kenison when the offenses occurred, court records indicate.
Deputy Prosecutor Shannon Kagawa asked for a prison sentence and anger-management treatment, noting, “The state does not believe the defendant can comply with probation.”
During sentencing, Nakamura noted Ontai’s mental health issues.
“But that does not mean that you are not responsible for your conduct,” the judge said.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
