John K. "Patrick" Lorenzo, accused of murdering state deputy sheriff Daniel Browne-Sanchez last month, yesterday was sentenced to up to 30 years behind bars for drug crimes committed in 2005.

Lorenzo, 32, was free on bail awaiting sentencing in the drug case when he allegedly entered the Osake Sushi Bar and Lounge at 3 a.m. Feb. 10 and fatally shot the off-duty sheriff during a failed robbery attempt.

Lorenzo's lawyer, Walter Rodby, tried unsuccessfully to keep evidence about the shooting out of yesterday's hearing, but Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto allowed the Honolulu police detective investigating the homicide to answer questions about it from city Prosecuting Attorney Peter Carlisle.

The detective, Roland Takasato, said witnesses identified Lorenzo as the man who entered the bar, wearing a mask and body armor and carrying a silencer-equipped, stolen handgun.

Witnesses said Lorenzo fired several rounds from the gun and "stated that he wanted the money," Takasato testified.

After nearly shooting one bar employee in the head, Lorenzo allegedly shot Browne-Sanchez several times, Takasato quoted witnesses as saying.

Despite being fatally wounded, Browne-Sanchez "was able to grab him (Lorenzo) and take him to the ground," Takasato testified. Other employees then subdued Lorenzo until police arrived, according to Takasato.

Browne-Sanchez, 27, was off-duty from his state job and was reportedly working at Osake as a bartender's assistant.

Lorenzo had been scheduled to be sentenced last year, but Sakamoto postponed the hearing several times to give Lorenzo a chance to complete a drug rehabilitation program. Carlisle told reporters at a press conference last month that the deputy sheriff would have been saved if Lorenzo had been sentenced to prison earlier.

Yesterday, Carlisle called the killing "one of the most vicious, heinous crimes committed in the state of Hawai'i in the last decade."

Rodby, Lorenzo's lawyer, asked the judge not to allow evidence about the death of Browne-Sanchez to be introduced yesterday, arguing that his client must be considered not guilty of that and other related charges.

Rodby argued that his client has never been convicted of a crime of violence and has been trying to deal with his "substance-abuse problem."

In fact, Rodby said, just hours before his client allegedly entered the Osake Bar, he had attended and "actively participated" in a drug treatment class. That class ran from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 9.

But Sakamoto noted that a Feb. 28 report on Lorenzo from the drug program said "there was little evidence of internal motivation for change" by the defendant.

Sakamoto said he did not believe that Lorenzo was in the program "sincerely" but was using it to avoid jail. He called Lorenzo a "dangerous person" and agreed with Carlisle's request to sentence him to consecutive 20- and 10-year prison terms.

The "extended" terms of imprisonment were imposed because Lorenzo is classified as a multiple and persistent criminal offender.

Rodby noted that the U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a ruling that calls into question Hawai'i state laws allowing judges to impose such extended sentences.

But Carlisle noted that the issue will be taken up by the Hawai'i Supreme Court, and he said efforts to amend the law are now under way at the state Legislature.

Rodby said that Lorenzo has the support of numerous family members, several of whom were in court yesterday, including his mother and his brother. They declined comment after the hearing.

Reach Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com.