After Maldonado stole about $1,800 from a driver and the driver reported the theft to police, Maldonado sought advice from Keliipaakaua, who told him not present the bribe himself in case his plan didn’t succeed, court documents state.
Maldonado offered the victim about $2,000 through Damien Kaina Jr. in exchange for the victim to withdraw his complaint against Maldonado, according to court documents.
Kaina’s cousin, former police Sgt. Walter Ahuna, picked up Kaina from the victim’s home and drove him to meet Maldonado.
The victim reported the attempted bribery to police the following day.
Keliipaakaua pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit witness tampering.
Maldonado pleaded guilty in April to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of conspiracy to commit witness tampering. He is awaiting sentencing.
Kaina was sentenced to two months in jail, a period of home confinement and three years of supervised release for witness tampering, Fenton said.
Ahuna also is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to witness tampering in June 2017.
Keliipaakaua, Maldonado and Ahuna no longer work for the Maui Police Department, Fenton said.
Thoughts on this or any other story? Write a Letter to the Editor. Send to news@civilbeat.org and put Letter in the subject line. 200 words max. You need to use your name and city and include a contact phone for verification purposes. And you can still comment on stories on.
