Inmate abandons own defense, boycotts kidnap trial

By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer

A Halawa prison inmate who insisted he be allowed to act as his own attorney boycotted the proceedings yesterday at the opening day of his trial on charges of kidnapping and terroristic threatening.

Alomalietoa Sua faces charges of kidnapping and threatening.

Sua first told Ahn that he wanted to stay in the courtroom to hear the case against him, but when he was told to be seated while the jury was being called to enter, he told the judge he did not want to be present "if you are going to deny my due process."

Sua later asked to be returned to the cellblock in the basement of the courthouse, and city Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Takata gave his opening statement with no one sitting at the defense table.

It is almost unheard of for a trial to begin with neither the defendant nor his lawyer in the courtroom. Howard Luke, a former city prosecutor and a private attorney specializing in criminal defense, said he could not recall a case in which no one was in the courtroom to represent the defendant.

In such a situation, the trial judge and prosecutor have to be "meticulous" to ensure the defendant receives a fair trial, Luke said.

Sua is being tried on charges he held a prison nurse at Halawa against her will and threatened her with a homemade knife, or "shank," on Sept. 20, 2000. Sua, of Waipahu, was serving time for robbery.

Before he was taken to the cellblock, Sua told the judge he had listed 149 possible defense witnesses on documents filed earlier, but that she had been unwilling to help him subpoena people he wants to testify on his behalf.

He said he needed more time to "get my witnesses together" and decide whom to call to testify.

"I think you would know already," Ahn shot back, noting the case is a year and a half old.

The judge told Sua that if he could produce "a half-decent list of bona fide witnesses," the court would do its best to subpoena them on his behalf.

"But here we are with a jury already selected and about to start trial," said Ahn, who also admonished Sua for taking a half-hour bathroom break.

When Ahn instructed the bailiff to bring in the jury, Sua asked to be returned to the cellblock.

Takata told the jury the evidence would show Sua went to the Halawa infirmary complaining of a sore arm and held prison nurse Robyn Kalahiki and threatened her.

The incident was resolved when Sua put the knife on a cabinet shelf, and an "extraction team" made up of Halawa corrections officers rushed in and subdued him while Kalahiki left the room.

Takata said he expects the trial to conclude today.

Reach David Waite at 525-8030 or at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com.