Posted at 8:25 p.m., Tuesday, February 4, 2003
Former police chief pleads no contest in theft
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
In a surprise move, former Assistant Chief Rafael Fajardo entered the plea to second-degree theft a day before his trial was set to begin before Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto. Jury selection was set for tomorrow for Fajardo and former police Maj. Jeffrey Owens, who also is charged with second-degree theft in the case.
Owens' jury waived trial has been rescheduled for March 3.
Fajardo pleaded no contest without any plea agreement and is not obligated to testify against Owens. In pleading no contest under state law, defendants acknowledge that they won't challenge the case against them and that normally they would be found guilty.
But Fajardo today asked Sakamoto to defer accepting the no-contest plea, which means Fajardo's record will be cleared if he stays out of trouble for a prescribed amount of time. A hearing on his request is set for April 29.
If the request is denied and Fajardo is found guilty, he could face up to five years in prison.
Fajardo, 61, the highest ranking police officer ever indicted in Honolulu, retired from the police force at the end of 2001.
Fajardo and Owens were indicted by the O'ahu grand jury in 2001 on charges of using taxpayer money earmarked to purchase food for police cellblock detainees to feed themselves and a small group of police officers from 1995 to 2000. Some of the meals included expensive cuts of meat, such as leg of lamb and turkey.
