Officers ask judge not to be lenient
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hundreds of Honolulu police officers have sent letters to a Circuit Court judge asking her to sentence Shane Mark to the maximum term allowed by law for the murder of Officer Glen Gaspar in March 2003.
Alexander Garcia, chairman of the O'ahu chapter of State of Hawai'i Organization of Police Officers, said the letter-writing effort was launched to counter a campaign by friends and family of Mark. Garcia said he has heard that close to 100 letters have been submitted to Circuit Judge Karen Ahn, asking for leniency when she sentences Mark on Monday.
MARK
The state public defender's office, which represented Mark at trial, could not be reached for comment last night.
Mark, 29, was found guilty in December of the fatal shooting of Gaspar at a Kapolei ice cream parlor. Gaspar was one of six officers who had gone to Kapolei to arrest Mark in connection with another shooting.
A Circuit Court jury found Mark guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder, which carries a maximum prison term of life with the possibility of parole. He could have faced life in prison without the possibility of parole if he had been convicted of the more serious charge of first-degree murder.
Mark also pleaded guilty to three firearms charges, and Garcia said he would like to see Ahn sentence Mark to consecutive terms.
"A guy like that has no right to be free in society," Garcia said. "We're all very concerned that this guy would ever be considered for any type of leniency."
Most of the officers and Honolulu Police Department staff signed form letters to Ahn. In it, the officers asked Ahn to "show no mercy."
"His record of 80 prior arrests and over 18 convictions clearly demonstrates he is a menace and threat to society," the letter states.
