Gamachuu gets probation

LIHU‘E — Originally charged with attempted murder for slashing the neck of another man with a knife, Paulus Gamachuu, 30, of Kilauea, was sentenced to probation last week.

Gamachuu was sentenced to a five-year term of probation for felony assault, and credited with time served in jail. Gamachuu, who pleaded guilty to second-degree assault on Feb. 10, initially faced attempted-murder charges after cutting another Kilauea resident’s neck with a knife Jan. 6.

The plea offer was arranged after the preliminary hearing, where witnesses to the incident said there was a fight between Gamachuu and the victim before Gamachuu stabbed him.

“The facts came out at the preliminary hearing, and (the prosecutor’s office) felt it was the more-appropriate charge,” county Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Craig De Costa said.

Gamachuu, a native of Micronesia, also faces probable deportation, but the federal Department of Homeland Security makes those enforcement decisions, De Costa said in February.

The admission to committing a violent felony involving a weapon would make him a more likely candidate for deportation, De Costa continued.

Special conditions to Gamachuu’s probation include 42 days incarceration, equivalent to jail time already served; 400 hours of community service; court fees and a $1,000 fine.

Five other Kaua‘i residents were sentenced to jail by Circuit Court Judge Clifford L. Nakea in proceedings last Thursday.

Sherrice Waiwaiole, 31, who has been incarcerated since her arrest in November 2003, was sentenced to a total of 15 years imprisonment for three separate felony cases.

Nakea sentenced Waiwaiole to five-year terms of imprisonment in three different cases relating to felony forgery and theft offenses, and ran the terms of imprisonment consecutively, said De Costa.

Waiwaiole entered her guilty pleas Feb. 5 to the offenses, which involved the presentation of forged checks that were initially stolen from motor vehicles in 2003.

Nakea considered Waiwaiole’s prior felony convictions (including felony theft and forgery) and parole revocations in handing down his sentence.

John Panday, 21, of Koloa, was re-sentenced to five years imprisonment for violating probation on a felony-theft conviction. Panday violated probation by testing positive for drugs twice, being discharged from Hina Mauka for excessive unexcused absences, and failing to report to his probation officer as ordered, De Costa said.

Cheri Lyons, 52, who has been incarcerated since December 2003, was sentenced to five years probation for two counts of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and one count of unlawful use of drug paraphernalia.

Special conditions to her probation include 90 days incarceration, substance abuse treatment, and drug testing, De Costa said.

Lyons entered her guilty pleas on Dec. 8 for her offenses, which were committed in August and September of last year.

Shayne Kupihea, 19, of Lihu‘e, was sentenced to a five-year term of probation, with 30 days in jail, for felony assault on a law-enforcement officer, and three counts of harassment.

Special conditions to probation include the incarceration, 400 hours of community-service work, and court fees.

Kupihea entered his guilty pleas on Feb. 5. According to prosecutors, Kupihea struck a KPD officer and verbally harassed and spat on other officers in September, 2003, after officers were initially dispatched to a domestic disturbance.

Mateo Samson, 43, of Lihu‘e, was re-sentenced to a five-year term of probation for violating the conditions of his probation for a burglary conviction. Samson will also have to serve an additional 30 days in jail, and complete 400 hours of community service.

Samson violated probation by not paying court fees on time, not completing previously ordered community-service hours, and failing to meet with his probation officer, De Costa said.

Staff Writer Tom Finnegan may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mailto:tfinnegan@pulitzer.net.