Hilo man with ‘a life of crime’ gets almost 13 years in prison

A 59-year-old Hilo man was sentenced Thursday to nearly 13 years in federal prison and five years of supervised release for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Robert Kinoshita pleaded guilty on Oct. 27, 2023, and had been detained since his arrest in August 2023.

The court ordered Kinoshita’s prison 155-month sentence to run consecutive to a state sentence for prior state convictions in 2021 involving unlawful imprisonment of a minor and promoting a dangerous drug in 2020.

According court records, the federal offense occurred in August 2023, while Kinoshita was on state probation. He was caught by the Hawaii Police Department dealing methamphetamine to a confidential informant from his car in the Wailoa State Recreation Area in Hilo.

A search warrant of his vehicle recovered over 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine as well as more than $6,600 in cash and other drug distribution paraphernalia.

In the 2020 case, Kinoshita was arrested in his vehicle in Hilo after he was found with methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and an unconscious minor who had no pants and displayed physical indications of sexual assault. At that time, Kinoshita was out on bail for two state felony cases.

In sentencing Kinoshita on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor noted Kinoshita’s state felony and misdemeanor convictions, which include assault, criminal contempt, abuse of a family member, terroristic threatening, theft, driving under the influence and vehicular offenses, receiving proceeds of a felony and drug crimes.

The court then stated that Kinoshita “has lived a life of crime for 41 years,” and that “protecting the community is an important value.”

“Today, Robert Kinoshita was finally stopped in his tracks and held accountable for decades of drug dealing offenses and crimes that caused significant harm to others,” U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors said in a statement. “Justice is best achieved when we collaborate with our state and local partners, as we did in this case and will continue to do every day to protect our community.”

Homeland Security Investigations and the Hawaii Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Perlmutter handled the prosecution.