The Hawai'i Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of robber Shaun Rodrigues, clearing the way for him to begin immediately serving his maximum 20-year prison term.

Rodrigues has been free on bail for more than a year.

Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall on Sept. 10, 2004, sentenced Rodrigues in the home invasion burglary, armed robbery and kidnapping of two Manoa women in 2000. But over objections by city prosecutors, the judge permitted Rodrigues to remain free on $75,000 bail while he appealed the convictions.

In a brief three-page decision, the justices unanimously upheld the convictions.

Rodrigues, 24, was found guilty by Crandall in a nonjury trial, but his attorney, William Harrison, has maintained that his client is the victim of mistaken identity and is innocent.

Harrison said Rodrigues was home sleeping when a gunman entered the victims' home on July 8, 2000.