Judge explains reasoning for Arthur Brun’s drug trafficking sentence

LIHU‘E — The federal judge who sentenced former Kaua‘i County Councilmember Arthur Brun to 20 years in prison Wednesday cited the defendant’s assault of a Kaua‘i Police Department lieutenant as a factor that influenced his decision.

According to a Thursday release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Judge Derrick Watson said at the Wednesday sentencing hearing that the assault charge “elevates the seriousness of Brun’s drug trafficking conduct in this case,” and that it is “the court’s obligation is to impose a sentence that adequately reflects the seriousness of that crime.”

While serving as the vice chair of the council’s Public Safety and Human Services Committee, Brun ran a drug trafficking ring distributing substantial amounts of meth throughout the island.

In 2020, he was indicted along with 11 other individuals and charged with a litany of felonies from drug trafficking offenses, to witness tampering, to firearm violations to assault of a federal law enforcement officer.

The assault charge stems from Brun’s October 2019 arrest, when he was stopped by KPD while transporting a pound of meth, as part of an ongoing federal investigation of Brun’s drug activity.

Brun repeatedly ignored the KPD lieutenant’s commands to exit his vehicle, leading the lieutenant to attempt to remove the keys from Brun’s ignition. While the officer’s arm was partially inside the vehicle Brun sped off, injuring the man.

U.S. Attorney Clare Connors also highlighted the injury of the KPD officer upon sentencing, along with Brun’s position of authority on the council.

“As methamphetamine trafficking continues to plague Hawai‘i as one of the worst crime problems in our state, the fact a publicly-elected official led a criminal organization engaged in such activity magnifies the seriousness of this matter,” said Connors. “The additional fact that this public official personally assaulted a law enforcement officer in the course of his criminal conduct adds to the corrupt nature of his offense.”

Watson has been a driving force behind laying a harsher sentence, rejecting a plea deal Brun had reached with prosecutors in March, claiming that the 15-year sentence agreed to was too lenient.

In addition to the 20-year sentence without the possibility of parole, Watson sentenced the former county councilmember to five years of supervised release. Watson recommended that he be sent to Terminal Island Federal Correctional Institution, a minimum-security prison in Los Angeles.

Brun’s lawyer, Rustam Barbee, said that while he disagreed with the sentence, he believed that Watson had considered “all the factors in mitigation and aggravation before imposing the sentence he believed to be warranted under the circumstances.”

Members of the law enforcement agencies that brought Brun, including Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives saw the significant sentence as a message against those who violate the public trust.

“As an elected official, Mr. Brun violated the trust of the community by participating in an elaborate crime ring,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge John F. Tobon. “This sentence shows that no one is above the law.”

KPD, ATF, and HSI conducted the investigation that led to Brun’s arrest, with the assistance of the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Coast Guard Investigative Service, who recovered a total of four pounds of meth connected with Brun.

“Illicit drugs, especially methamphetamine, are responsible for destroying too many lives,” KPD Chief Todd Raybuck said in the release. “This case is evidence of the dedication and collaboration between the Kauai Police Department and our federal partners. I am proud of, and grateful for, the women and men that placed themselves in harm’s way, sacrificing much time away from their families, to bring this case to conclusion.”