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John Stancil, the younger brother of accused racketeering boss Michael J. Miske Jr., pleaded guilty on Sunday to a single charge of racketeering conspiracy as part of a last-minute deal with prosecutors.

The guilty plea is unusual because it appears to have involved a court appearance on Sunday, when the courts are generally closed.

Court records show prosecutors filed the new charge just after noon on Sunday via an “information,” a procedure that doesn’t require grand jury action and is typically a prelude to a negotiated plea.

UPDATE: Stancil appeared in court early Monday morning, where his guilty plea was accepted by Judge Derrick Watson, after he asked Stancil a series of questions about his plea and his criminal actions. 

In his plea, Stancil acknowledged he had been part of the Miske Enterprise at least from 2012 to 2020. He acknowledged assisting with chemical attacks on two Honolulu nightclubs in March 2017, and admitted carrying out a similar chemical attack in a crowded Waikiki nightclub in 2015. He also admitted conspiring with several others to murder a Waimanalo man Miske suspected of cooperating with law enforcement, and to facilitating or participating in several assaults, including beatings of two used car dealers who were bidding against Miske at car auctions.

The plea agreement notably does not include a provision that would have required Stancil to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against the remaining defendant, his brother, Mike Miske. He is now scheduled to be sentenced on the afternoon of May 15.

With jury selection wrapped up last week and opening statements scheduled to kick off on Monday morning, it remains to be seen whether Miske will follow with a deal of his own, or stay the course and face the jury alone.

Although the trial had been expected to last at least six months, it could be significantly shorter with Miske as the sole remaining defendant. 

Stancil faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a fine of up to $250,000 on the racketeering conspiracy charge, as well as supervised release of up to three years after completing the prison sentence. 

With Stancil’s plea, prosecutors have now obtained guilty pleas to felony charges from all 12 of Miske’s original co-defendants, including Jason Yokoyama, his former business partner, and Delia Fabro-Miske, his daughter-in-law. All but two have agreed to testify against Miske. 

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In exchange for Stancil’s plea on the racketeering charge, prosecutors agreed to drop 10 additional charges spelled out in the 22-count indictment made public in July 2020. The charges against Stancil had included murder for hire conspiracy, assault and attempted murder in aid of racketeering, use of a dangerous chemical as a weapon, armed robbery and drug trafficking. 

The significant concessions made by prosecutors suggest that Stancil agreed to provide significant assistance, including if necessary testifying against his brother. 

Although Stancil’s guilty plea has been placed on the public record, his written plea agreement had not yet been filed in court as of Sunday evening.

Plea agreements generally contain a section of “factual stipulations” which list criminal actions admitted by the defendant, and also indicate whether the defendant has agreed to testify against others. In this case, the extent of Stancil’s cooperation with prosecutors will not be known until the plea agreement is filed in court.

Stancil’s Criminal History

Stancil, 36, pleaded no contest in July 2018 to misdemeanor assault charges stemming from a brutal attack on a rival promoter that involved Stancil, several bouncers from the M Nightclub, and allegedly Miske in December 2012. The attack took place when the promoter was soliciting customers who were leaving Miske’s nightclub at the 4 a.m. closing, inviting them to an upcoming holiday event at another competing venue.

Felony assault charges against Mike Miske in that case are still pending in state court.

In January 2013, Stancil was charged along with Miske and a third man, Michael Buntenbah, for assaulting NFL lineman Trent Williams, his brother, and other members of his party in a late night altercation at the M Nightclub. Miske was accused of striking Williams on the head with a champagne bottle, while police reports show Stancil was accused of using a Taser during the attack. The case was dropped after the victims indicated they would not return to Hawaii to testify in a criminal trial. 

Prosecutors have alleged Stancil had more recently been in charge of directing a series of assaults and robberies of other drug dealers over several years, part of the activities of what prosecutors have referred to as the Miske Enterprise. 

The murder for hire charges against Stancil stemmed from his alleged involvement in the ambush and attempted murder of Lindsey Kinney near a movie set at Kualoa Ranch in May 2017. Kinney had been in a public feud with Miske, who also took part in the attack. Two others who took part in that attack, Jacob “Jake” Smith and Harry Kauhi, have also pleaded guilty and admitted their roles in the ambush. 

In addition, prosecutors have previously alleged Stancil helped to arrange a 2016 meeting between Miske and Lance Bermudez, who the government says Miske wanted to recruit to kill a Waimanalo man suspected of providing information about Miske to law enforcement investigators.