Lawyer's tab to city may hit $100,000

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

The city expects to spend up to $100,000 on attorney fees to defend a former Honolulu Police Department major implicated in the cellblock food scandal case.

About $50,000 has been spent so far to defend Jeffrey Owens, who is charged with second-degree theft, according to city lawyers. Another $50,000 could be required for his trial, set to begin March 3.

Owens is one of two former high-ranking officers who were indicted in 2001 for allegedly diverting taxpayer money to buy lavish meals for themselves and other officers. The money was meant to pay for modest meals fed to prisoners at police headquarters. Food was also stolen, prosecutors say.

Owens has pleaded not guilty. The other defendant, former Assistant Police Chief Rafael Fajardo, pleaded no contest to second-degree theft earlier this month. Each officer could face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Fajardo has requested that acceptance of his plea be deferred, which could leave his record clean if he is not charged with additional crimes. He is not obligated to testify against Owens.

Last June, the Honolulu Police Commission granted Owens' request that the city pay his attorney fees, but denied Fajardo's request.

The panel ruled that Owens had been acting within the course and scope of his duties when the alleged theft occurred, but that Fajardo had not been.

Fajardo's attorney said his client never authorized that money for prisoners' food be spent to feed police officers. He decided to stop fighting the charge because the offense occurred on his watch and the case had become a financial hardship, the lawyer said.