A Hawaii Inmate Serving A Life Sentence Has Died In A Florida Prison
Brandon Lafoga was convicted in the 2015 shooting of a man in Waianae who managed to escape and drive himself to a health center.
A 33-year-old Hawaii inmate who was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for a Waianae shooting died earlier this month in a Florida prison, according to the Hawaii Department of Public Safety.
Brandon Fetu Lafoga was convicted of attempted second-degree murder and firearms charges for shooting another man four times with a .45-caliber handgun in 2015.
At the time he was sentenced in 2020, the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office as “one of the strongest sentences in Hawaii state history.” Prosecutors said the sentence by Circuit Judge Paul B.K. Wong “ensures Lafoga will never be released on parole.”
The man who had been shot managed to escape and drive himself to the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, and survived injuries that included gunshot wounds to his face, torso, buttocks and legs, according to media reports at the time.
Public Safety spokeswoman Toni Schwartz said Lafoga was found unresponsive in his cell at the Charlotte Correctional Institution in southwest Florida on Feb. 5. Prison medical staff attempted life-saving measures until emergency medical services staff arrived and took over CPR.
Lafoga was pronounced dead by staff at 6:57 p.m. at an area hospital, and an autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death, Schwartz said in a written statement.
Public Safety officials will not release any further information about the case pending completion of an investigation by local law enforcement, according to a written statement from the department.
Schwartz said Lafoga was being held at the Florida prison for security reasons under an interstate compact agreement that allows Hawaii to transfer certain prisoners to other states.
