Federal Judge Postpones Sentencing Of The Kealohas For Two Weeks
Louis Kealoha, the former Honolulu police chief, and Katherine Kealoha, a former deputy city prosecutor, are now scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 31.
The Kealohas and the police officers who were convicted of conspiracy and obstruction charges alongside them will get two more weeks to prepare for their sentencing hearings.
A federal judge granted Katherine Kealoha, a former deputy city prosecutor, and her husband, ex-Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha, and his former employees, Derek Hahn and Minh-Hung “Bobby” Nguyen, continuances at a hearing Thursday.
They were convicted in June for trying to frame Gerard Puana, Katherine Kealoha’s uncle, for the theft of the Kealohas’ mailbox from their Kahala home in June 2013.
While he granted two more weeks,聽 U.S. District Court Judge J. Michael Seabright denied Louis Kealoha’s motion to consolidate the sentencing for the trial he was already convicted in and another one that may be coming up in January involving bank fraud and identity theft charges should he be convicted in that one as well.
“There’s a high public interest here and the interest of victims,” Seabright said at the hearing, referring to Gerard and Florence Puana, Katherine Kealoha’s uncle and 100-year-old grandmother. The Kealohas are accused of stealing money from them.
Louis Kealoha’s attorney, Rustam Barbee, had asked for the consolidation, saying it would “promote judicial efficiency” and “ensure effective assistance of counsel.”
“We got something,” Barbee said after the hearing.
Katherine and Louis Kealoha are now scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 31.聽 Sentencing for Hahn and Nguyen is set for Nov. 4.
