Circuit Judge Steven Alm hammered Benjamin Pada with a 15-year prison sentence today for his role in the events that led to the death of Waikiki Good Samaritan Ned Nakoa last year in Waikiki.

The sentence was five years more than the Prosecutor’s Office had sought for Pada, 19, who pleaded guilty in March to felony robbery and assault charges.
Pada’s lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Salina Althof, protested Alm’s sentence, which requires that Pada first serve 10 years for the robbery count and then five more for the assault count.
“I object to the consecutive sentences,” said Althof, who had asked Alm to consider a sentence of probation for Pada. “The state has not even asked for that.”
But Alm cited Pada’s long history of violence and drug use, saying, “The public and society deserve to be protected from you.”
Pada admitted stealing purses from two women in Waikiki the night of May 17, 2008, then fighting with the boyfriend of one victim.
Nakoa, 58, tried to intercede in the fight and was fatally punched in the head by Pada’s co-defendant in the case, Kelii Acasia.
Acasia, 20, was convicted of manslaughter in a jury trial earlier this month and faces a mandatory sentence of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced by Alm July 13.
Pada tearfully apologized to members of Nakoa’s family in court this morning and asked Alm for another chance at probation.
“I’m not heartless. I’m not one animal,” Pada said, telling the Nakoa family that he was “on drugs” at the time of the assault.
“I hope you guys can forgive me,” he said.