Trial date set in manslaughter case

January 11, 2013
by Lila Fujimoto, Staff Writer of Maui News

Defense attorney Cary Virtue addresses 2nd Circuit Court Judge Joseph Cardoza while defendant Peter Schmidt, 29, looks on.

WAILUKU – An April 1 trial is set in 2nd Circuit Court for a Kihei man charged with manslaughter in the death of a Longs Drug Store manager who was trying to stop a shoplifting.

Peter Schmidt, 29, pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter and first-degree robbery during his arraignment Thursday.

Bail remained at $50,000 for Schmidt, who is being held at the Maui Community Correctional Center. Defense attorney Cary Virtue said Schmidt didn’t want an assessment prepared for a bail hearing.

During testimony at a preliminary hearing last month, Schmidt was identified as the shoplifter who walked out of the Kihei Longs store without paying for a 30-pack of beer at about 5:30 a.m. Dec. 23. Jamie Hozaki, the store manager, and another employee followed Schmidt outside, where Schmidt got into the driver’s seat of a white Ford sedan.

Hozaki had opened the driver’s door and asked Schmidt to return the beer when Schmidt suddenly reversed out of the parking stall, throwing Hozaki to the ground, according to testimony.

An employee said Schmidt had been repeatedly told while inside the store that he couldn’t buy alcohol until after 6 a.m. under Hawaii law.

After being admitted to Maui Memorial Medical Center with a severe brain injury, Hozaki was pronounced dead Dec. 28. He was 61 years old.

Police arrested Schmidt the day after the incident in Kihei.

Judge Joseph Cardoza ordered that previous court orders continue.

Deputy Prosecutor Kenton Werk said Schmidt previously had been ordered not to return to any Longs location on Maui and to have no contact with any Longs employee. Schmidt was ordered not to consume alcohol or illegal drugs and, if released from jail, to report for random drug testing.

In a separate Family Court case, Schmidt is charged with abuse by refusing to comply with a 24-hour warning citation to stay away from his residence on Aliilani Place after a report that he had physically abused his girlfriend.

According to court records, police issued the citation at about 2 p.m. Dec. 23 after investigating the incident of physical force. His girlfriend reported no pain or injury.

Schmidt initialed a form indicating that he understood he was not to initiate contact with his girlfriend and was told he wasn’t to return to the residence until the warning citation expired the next afternoon, according to police. He was seen leaving the property on foot.

At 10:45 a.m. Dec. 24, Detective Jeffrey Mahoney saw Schmidt leaving the Aliilani Place residence “in direct violation of the 24-hour warning citation,” according to court records. Mahoney followed Schmidt to a parking lot of a business on Huku Lii Place, where he was arrested for the abuse charge.

When Schmidt was arraigned on the charge Dec. 26, he was referred to the Maui Intake Service Center for preparation of a bail study. But on Dec. 27, “he indicated that he wanted to consult with his attorney before deciding to participate in a bail study,” according to court records.

A March 4 trial is scheduled for Schmidt on the abuse charge.

December 15, 2010
by Melissa Tanji, Staff Writer of Maui News

WAILUKU – An 18-year-old man who broke into an Honokowai apartment with two others and stole several items including a digital camera, laptop computer and a video game console, was sentenced to 180 days in jail and five years’ probation Tuesday.

Second Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza also ordered Blake West and his co-defendants to pay $7,328 in restitution, to stay away from the victim and to not enter the Sunset Terrace Apartments.

West received credit for time already served in jail and a chance to clear his record if he successfully completes probation. He remains in custody at Maui Community Correctional Center.

Cardoza warned West that if he gets into trouble again he could be facing more prison time.

“The law has given you a chance to make something out of your life,” Cardoza said at the end of the hearing.

Defense attorney Cary Virtue said this is the first time West has gotten into trouble, and he has enrolled at Maui Community Correctional Center to obtain his general education diploma.

Deputy Prosecutor Mark Simonds said West, 19-year-old Justin Fonseca and a 17-year-old had staked out the apartment they intended to burglarize and waited for the woman and her boyfriend to leave to take their dog for a walk before they went in and took various items, including the camera equipment she used for her job.

“They were basically tools of her trade,” Simonds said.

He asked Cardoza to follow the plea agreement and not give West a chance to clear his record because the defendant did not take the opportunity in the past to get treatment for using illegal substances.

But Simonds acknowledged West was helpful to police and helped recover a stolen item.

“I think he is sincere. He is young enough to change,” Simonds said.

West pleaded no contest to first-degree burglary and second-degree theft for the incident on June 12, court records show. Fonseca is awaiting sentencing.

In an unrelated case, 32-year-old Julie Devera of Kalamaula, Molokai, was sentenced Tuesday to five years’ probation for forging a check to get groceries and cash last year.

Cardoza gave Devera, who was out of custody and pregnant, credit for the 30 days she had already spent in jail and ordered her to pay $250 in restitution.

Devera was sentenced under a law for first-time property offenders who are nonviolent and fit criteria including being in need of substance abuse treatment.

According to court records, from Sept. 29 to Sept. 30, 2009, Devera forged a check and made it payable to $250 in cash and purchased more than $89 in groceries and received nearly $161 back in change at the Misaki’s store in Kaunakakai.

Devera pleaded no contest to second-degree forgery and third-degree theft.

October 1, 2009
The Maui News