Five arrestees spared jail time for gambling
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
Five people, including two civilian police department dispatchers, who were arrested last fall following a gambling raid on a Waimalu home, were fined varying amounts by Circuit Judge Karen Ahn, but received no jail time.
Attorney Scott Collins, who represented the five defendants, told Ahn his clients believed they were engaging in "social gambling," which is legal in Hawai'i.
Were it not for the fact that $10 was collected from people who frequented the gambling operation at the home of dispatcher James Ward to cover the cost of "pupus and beverages," charges would not have been brought against his clients, Collins said.
He said gambling is a cultural pastime for many Hawai'i residents.
"Even if it's cultural, it's against the law to gamble, period," Ahn said.
Ahn rejected a request by Ward, 39, to defer accepting the no-contest plea he entered in the case in May. Had Ahn granted the deferral, and had Ward stayed out of trouble for a prescribed period of time, he would have avoided a criminal record in the case.
Instead, Ahn placed Ward on five year's probation, fined him $1,500 and ordered him to pay $2,500 to the Hawai'i Crime Victims Compensation Fund.
Ahn also refused to grant a deferral to Ray Takeshita, 49, a restaurant worker, who had prior misdemeanor gambling convictions in 1984 and 1993. She placed him on five year's probation, fined him $1,500 and ordered him to pay $5,000 to the crime victims fund.
Ahn did grant deferrals to three others in the case, including police department dispatcher Trisha Takayesu, 35, who must stay out of trouble for one year in order to avoid a record of conviction on multiple misdemeanor gambling charges. Ahn also ordered Takayesu to pay a $2,000 fine and $1,500 to the crime victims fund.
Also receiving deferrals were Iris Takeshita, 47, a food-service worker, and Romeo Marzan, 24, who works for a Honolulu marketing and polling firm.
Takeshita was ordered to maintain a clean record for five years, pay $1,500 to the crime victims fund and pay a $5,000 fine.
Ahn also ordered Marzan to stay out of trouble for five years to avoid a conviction for the gambling offense, pay $2,500 to the crime victims fund and pay a $5,000 fine.
City Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee said outside the courtroom that an undercover officer visited the gambling operation once in July 2001, once the following month and three times in September 2001 and saw between $1,000 and $1,100 in play on each of those occasions.
Each of the defendants apologized to their friends and family for the embarrassment they caused and for breaking the law.
Michelle Yu, a spokeswoman for the Honolulu Police Department, said an administrative review board will meet to come up with a recommendation on what, if any, disciplinary action should be taken against Ward and Takayesu.
Options range from no action to termination, with the final decision to be made by Police Chief Lee Donohue, Yu said.
Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.
