A former Waiakea High School basketball coach and onetime University of Hawaii at Manoa hoops standout is facing two criminal charges for allegedly pocketing funds intended to finance hotel arrangements for a basketball team trip.
Justin Alika Pekelo Smith — better known as Alika Smith — was arrested Thursday afternoon by the Hawaii Police Department and charged with second-degree theft and negotiating a worthless negotiable instrument.
Smith was released from custody after posting $25,000 bail.
According to the complaint filed by the state Department of the Attorney General, Smith, a 48-year-old Pahoa resident, in December 2022 arranged through Sports Travel LLC hotel accommodations for the Waiakea High School boys’ basketball team, at a cost of $3,788.75.
Smith allegedly collected $3,627 from the team members’ parents and kept the money for himself. According to a statement by the AG, Smith paid a deposit of $500 and allegedly wrote a check for the remainder of the balance owed Sports Travel, knowing the check would not be honored.
The check bounced due to insufficient funds, according to the complaint, and Smith never paid Sports Travel the balance of what was owed.
“The people of Hawaii expect their public servants to act with honesty and integrity. When a public servant steals, the people’s faith in government is undermined,” said Acting Attorney General Matthew Dvonch, who is serving in that capacity while Attorney General Anne Lopez is out of state.
“The Department of the Attorney General will prosecute all those who abuse their positions of trust.”
Smith appeared today before Hilo Circuit Judge Peter Kubota without an attorney, and did not enter a plea. He was referred to the Office of the Public Defender and ordered to return to court on Sept. 11.
Second-degree theft is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine not exceeding $10,000. Negotiating a worthless negotiable instrument is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine not exceeding $2,000.
Smith coached the Warriors boys’ team in 2022 after leading the Waiakea girls’ team to a pair of BIIF Division I runner-up finishes.
Prior to his tenure on the Big Island, Smith helmed his high school alma mater, Kalaheo High School on Oahu — where he played for his father, the late, legendary coach Pete Smith — to three state championships in his five years as the Mustangs’ boys head coach.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.