Defendant told to stay the drug-, crime-free course

WAILUKU — A judge told a woman to focus on her drug treatment as she was placed on four years’ probation for participating in a series of vehicle thefts and break-ins last year.

“This is a critical turning point in your life, and I want to encourage you to just move ahead,” 2nd Circuit Judge Kelsey Kawano told Abigail Kuhia, 20. “You can do it. There’s a lot of people pulling for you.”

In eight criminal cases, Kuhia had pleaded no contest to three counts of first-degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, four counts of unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, second-degree theft and third-degree theft. The crimes occurred in December 2018 and from July to September 2019.

Kawano followed a plea agreement recommending probation for Kuhia, who had spent nearly 10 months in jail before she was released on supervision when she changed her pleas June 26.

After being released, she entered drug treatment and was working and continuing in outpatient treatment after a recent relapse, said her attorney, Jon Apo.

“She gets it,” Apo said. Kuhia said she reported to an intake worker supervising her that she had relapsed after being influenced by people she had been hanging out with.

In five of her criminal cases, Kuhia was charged along with a co-defendant.

“Nothing good is going to come out for you if you hang out with users, people who commit crimes,” Judge Kawano told her. “It’s very, very important that you continue doing what you’re doing, no matter what the setback.

“We all understand relapse is a natural part of advancement. But you’re at a crucial point in your life where you can turn it around all for the good if you just stay the course and do the work you know you need to do to affect changes within.”

Kuhia was ordered to pay restitution totaling $2,509 in two of the cases.

In another sentencing Tuesday, a 33-year-old Kahului man was sentenced to a oneyear jail term as part of four years’ probation for assaulting his wife.

Jeremy Lama could be released from jail early to enter drug treatment.

He had pleaded no contest to second-degree assault for punching his wife multiple times the evening of March 13 in Kahului, according to court records. At the time, his wife had a court order for protection prohibiting Lama from threatening or abusing her.

During the time Lama has spent in jail, his wife of 17 years “has seen him sober up and really become the man that she once married,” said Deputy Prosecutor Ryan Teshima.

He said Lama’s wife was helping him get into treatment, and they planned to move to Oahu “to get away from the bad influences on Maui.”

“Hopefully, the defendant uses probation to be a good husband, to be a good father he is without the drugs,” Teshima said.

Deputy Public Defender Ben Lowenthal said there was a contrast between Lama and the person described in police reports.

“He can be law abiding, a hard worker. He can be a gentle person and a thoughtful person,” Lowenthal said. “He is a damaged person. He’s damaged by this terrible combination of substance abuse, frustration with his economic situation, and it is punctuated by violence.”

Lama had a job when he was convicted of abuse and placed on probation in a 2019 case before he and his family became homeless, Lowenthal said.

He said Lama was waiting for a space to become available in a treatment program on Oahu.

Lama was ordered to complete domestic violence intervention treatment as part of his probation.