LIHUE — A man who assaulted a drug dealer was handed a jail sentence and four years of probation on Thursday in 5th Circuit Court. Keanu Vance Sims Olival, 22, of Lihue, was given a year in jail for second-degree
LIHUE — A man who assaulted a drug dealer was handed a jail sentence and four years of probation on Thursday in 5th Circuit Court.
Keanu Vance Sims Olival, 22, of Lihue, was given a year in jail for second-degree robbery and concurrent terms of nine months for methamphetamine possession and six months for misdemeanor second-degree terroristic threatening.
“I accept that I did wrong and offer no excuses,” Olival told the court, adding he would welcome another opportunity at inpatient addiction treatment, which he failed once before. “I am sick of this, drugs have gotten me nowhere.”
County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Melinda Mendes said Olival’s statements about wanting to change his life were articulate and she hoped sincere. Creating enemies of drug dealers is a dangerous game, Mendes said, before asking the court to sentence him to 15 months in jail with probation.
The July 10, 2013, incident unfolded when Olival approached a dealer to buy marijuana, according to defense attorney James Tagupa. The dealer didn’t like the look of Olival’s companion and refused the sale.
Olival returned with a different companion and began to discuss the transaction when a fight broke out, Tagupa said. Olival took drugs from the dealer after the fight.
A 5th Circuit grand jury indictment charged that in the course of committing theft and while armed with a dangerous instrument, Olival used force and threatened bodily injury against two individuals.
The two attorneys presented Olival as someone who has turned the corner in his willingness to address an addiction issue that has held him down since he was 13 years old. Olival has performed well with supervision and direction, but until he spent the past six months in jail, he hadn’t been ready to deal with the underlying addiction.
In his statement to the court, Olival said the number of people with addiction issues in Kauai Community Correction Center is alarming. It made him pause and reflect and realize he wanted to get more out of life.
Chief Judge Randal Valenciano said the defendant would get a chance at probation with Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement probation. This comes with programs and treatment for addiction.
If he does not comply, then a revocation of probation could result in a prison term, he added.
“You are here because of your drug use and abuse,” Valenciano said. “The question is how are you going to respond to this?”
