A 37-year-old Hilo man pleaded guilty Tuesday to being an accomplice to a robbery of a homeless man last year, plus unrelated drug and paraphernalia charges.
A 37-year-old Hilo man pleaded guilty Tuesday to being an accomplice to a robbery of a homeless man last year, plus unrelated drug and paraphernalia charges.
In a deal with prosecutors, Wayne Wesley Geil entered the guilty plea to accessory to second-degree robbery, plus third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and drug paraphernalia. In return, a charge of accessory to first-degree robbery was reduced and a petty misdemeanor theft charge in the drug case was dropped.
Geil faces a probation charge with a maximum 18-month jail term with credit for time served when he is sentenced at 8 a.m. April 13, provided he gets into drug treatment and has no further trouble with the law.
The accessory to robbery charge carries a possible 10-year prison term, while the drug offenses carry a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment.
Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville told acting Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto that Geil “agreed to go along with a plan made by Lawrence Kaaumoana-Ferreira to rob a street person” on Oct. 25.
“The defendant was present when (Kaaumoana-Ferreira) used … deadly force against … Jeffrey Thome to facilitate the taking of property,” Damerville said. “… The defendant assisted by running off with the property that was taken from Jeffrey Thome.”
“So, Mr. Geil, is that correct?” Nakamoto asked.
“Yes,” Geil responded.
The backpack taken contained Thome’s possessions, worth $265 according to court documents filed by police. Geil reportedly directed police to where the backpack was taken and the man’s possessions were recovered.
The 40-year-old Thome was taken to Hilo Medical Center where he was treated for fractures of his radius and ulna just above the wrist.
Damerville said the drug charges stemmed from a Nov. 5 incident at Starbucks on Kilauea Avenue in Hilo. Geil was found to be in possession a glass smoking pipe with methamphetamine residue during the petty misdemeanor theft arrest.
Geil’s attorney, Gary Zamber, said his client has a spot waiting at Lokahi Treatment Center. Nakamoto ordered Geil be freed on supervised release, in accordance with the plea deal, so he can obtain the drug treatment.
Kaaumoana-Ferreira still faces first-degree robbery and first-degree assault charges. He’s in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of $20,000 bail. His next court hearing is scheduled for March 6.
If convicted of first-degree robbery, Kaaumoana-Ferreira faces a possible 20-year prison term, while the first-degree assault charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in imprisonment.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.