By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
State Rep. Noboru Yonamine, who earlier this week pleaded not guilty, will change his plea to guilty to drunken driving.
Yonamine, D-35th (Pearl City, Pacific Palisades) yesterday wrote to his attorney requesting a guilty plea be submitted because he didn’t want to "emotionally burden my family, friends and loyal constituents any further by extending this matter."
Yonamine was arrested Feb. 8 after being stopped on the H-1 Freeway before the H-3 off-ramp and failing a field sobriety test. His blood-alcohol measured 0.134, which was above the legal limit of 0.08, police said.
Yonamine, 66, said his attorneys advised him to plead not guilty at a Tuesday court hearing because it was routine in DUI cases.
"They recommended I plead not guilty in the event something was found defensible in the case," he explained. "My wife and daughter (later) got very upset and set me straight that if I said I’m wrong, I should just plead guilty.
"As I said earlier, I made a mistake and will not challenge the police record. I will accept whatever punishment is handed down," he said.
Following the arrest, Yonamine said he would resign his office, but has since decided to serve the remainder of his term based on feedback from his constituents.
Yonamine is scheduled to return to ‘Ewa District Court April 3 for sentencing. His driver’s license has been revoked by the state administrative driver’s license revocation office until June 10.
Yonamine said he will voluntarily seek counseling.
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