Posted on: Wednesday, July 3, 2002

Man gets 20 years in jail for burglary

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

A man who is the chief suspect in the slaying of an elderly Canadian tourist in January 2001 was sentenced yesterday to 20 years in prison for an unrelated burglary conviction.

Under state law, a first-degree burglary conviction is punishable by a maximum sentence of 10 years. However, Circuit Judge Marie Milks granted a request by city Deputy Prosecutor Russell Uehara to sentence Steven M. Hauge to an extended term of 20 years on the basis of Hauge's extensive criminal record.

Hauge remains the "chief and sole suspect" in the slaying of Norman Chaplan, 81, who was bludgeoned to death with a rock within hours of arriving in Waikiki for what was supposed to be a dream vacation, Uehara said outside the courtroom.

The Chaplan murder case remains open, Uehara said, but played no role in yesterday's sentencing. Instead, Hauge was sentenced for a hotel break-in that occurred less than six hours after Chaplan was killed, Uehara said.

In the burglary case, an Ohio couple found their hotel room had been broken into and T-shirts, a video camera and cash were stolen.

Uehara said after that Hauge entered the room and smashed a drinking glass in the sink so he could slit open some suitcases. In the process, Hauge cut his hand and DNA evidence linked him to the crime, Uehara said.

He asked Milks to sentence Hauge under a section of Hawai'i law that provides for extended prison terms for "persistent" offenders.

Uehara described Hauge as a "career criminal since his arrival in Hawai'i in 1976."

Hawai'i law allows for extended terms when it can be shown that a convicted felon has at least two prior felony convictions that occurred at or over the age of 18, Uehara said. He cited three felony convictions — in 1977 for theft, in 1989 for assault and in 1994 for terroristic threatening.

"He is incorrigible," Uehara told Milks. "His only gainful employment is committing crimes."

Hauge's lawyer, deputy public Defender Walter Rodby, told the judge none the felony convictions cited by Uehara were for violent offenses.

He asked that Hauge be given probation and a jail sentence of no more than a year, or at the most, no more than a 10 year maximum sentence for the burglary conviction.

"He has never been convicted in a case where someone suffered a severe bodily injury," Rodby said.

Hauge told Milks that he felt he had been punished enough for his prior convictions after spending nearly 10 years in prison and paying off the court-ordered restitution.

"To be sentenced to 20 years for two T-shirts and a video camera — that's harsh," Hauge said.

Milks said she was imposing the extended sentence to protect the public from Hauge, who she said had "a history of serious assaultive behavior."