HONOLULU — A Lihu‘e postal worker charged with selling unregistered guns entered guilty pleas on two counts Monday in United States Federal District Court. Troy Haruki Hamura, 51, of Lihu‘e, entered guilty pleas to making a false statement in connection
HONOLULU — A Lihu‘e postal worker charged with selling unregistered guns entered guilty pleas on two counts Monday in United States Federal District Court.
Troy Haruki Hamura, 51, of Lihu‘e, entered guilty pleas to making a false statement in connection with the purchase of a firearm and for illegal possession of a machine gun.
Hamura was present and not in custody. He will remain on supervised release under a $25,000 unsecured bond until his Dec. 17 sentencing hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Oki-Mollway.
“I don’t think Troy realized the seriousness of what he did while he was doing it,” said Hamura’s private attorney, Keith S. Shigetomi. “Once he did, Troy went to the court and took responsibility for what happened.”
The decision on the plea deal was in part regarding other possible firearms charges that the prosecution could have added at a later date, Shigetomi said.
“It was something that we discussed very early on,” Shigetomi said. “Troy did cooperate and it’s just a continuation of those discussions.”
The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Hino.
U.S. District Judge Richard L. Puglisi presided over the change of plea hearing.
Hamura was granted supervised release in August. He is required to reside at a half-way house while awaiting sentencing.
Shigetomi said that Hamura’s understanding was that he didn’t cheat anybody and wasn’t using the firearms improperly, and so he felt he wasn’t doing anything wrong. He cooperated fully once confronted by ATF agents and the government, he said.
“Troy didn’t realize the seriousness of what he did,” Shigetomi said.
The investigation started after Hamura sold a firearm to a friend, who then tried to register it with the Kaua‘i Police Department, Shigetomi said.
Regarding the first charge, the plea statement notes that on March 9, 2011, Hamura ordered a Springfield M1A1 rifle from Florida Gun Exchange using Kalepa Mea Kaua Firearms’ Federal Firearms License without permission. He was accused of falsely representing that he was authorized.
Shigetomi said that Hamura was not selling machine guns. He was a collector and the M16 was a novelty, he said.
“He made no attempt to sell it,” he said.
The gun was mailed via the U.S. Postal Service when it was not lawful to sell or ship the gun to Hamura without first shipping it to KMK Firearms first.
On March 15, 2011, a USPS letter carrier delivered the gun to Hamura’s address even though the parcel was addressed to KMK Firearms. The statement said Hamura broke regulations by convincing a letter carrier to deliver the parcel to his address.
Hamura admitted to intercepting the parcel to federal ATF agents on June 14. He was arrested July 25 on a federal complaint related to selling unregistered guns that were shipped through the U.S. Postal Service.
Regarding the second charge, ATF agents in a June 14 search of Hamura’s residence found a Colt AR15 (M16A1), and acknowledged that it was a machine gun. Hamura stated that he purchased the Colt from a friend.
In exchange for the guilty plea, the U.S. Attorney agreed not to bring charges on additional violations of making false statements in connection with the purchase of a firearm arising out of unauthorized use of the Kalepa Mea Kaua Firearms’ Federal Firearms License.
The Department of Justice reported that federal agents recovered 19 unregistered firearms from Hamura’s Lihu‘e residence, along with 30 registered firearms and 23,000 rounds of ammunition that do not form the basis of the charges.
The uncharged misconduct may be considered in determining the sentencing advisory guideline range, according to the change of plea agreement.
Hamura faces a possible 10-year maximum term of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and three year’s of supervised release. The court is not bound by agreement and could sentence consecutive prison time on both charges.
“There is no plea agreement as to the actual sentence,” Shigetomi said.
The terms of his supervised release remain in place until sentencing, Shigetomi said. Unlike state court, where attorneys can argue about the sentencing guidelines as for jail or probation, he said in federal court the U.S. Sentencing Commission reviews the case and applies federal sentencing guidelines with respect to uniformity.
It is unlikely that Hamura will serve 10 years, he said.
There are understandable concerns about weapons and the potential for things to happen, he said. However, Hamura was gainfully employed for more than 20 years and was not prohibited from owning and obtaining firearms legally.
“Had he gone through a licensed firearms dealer then there is nothing to prohibit his from obtaining the firearm,” he said.
The U.S. Postal Service did not respond by press time.
