Gambling case against 3 men is dismissed
A state judge Tuesday dismissed the gambling promotion and racketeering case against three men who distributed or owned 77 arcade machines that Honolulu police seized in 2012 and that a federal judge had deemed as gambling devices.
Circuit Judge Rom Trader dismissed the indictment against Tracy Yoshimura, Eugene Simeona Jr. and Michael Miller Jr. because the state took too long to take the men to trial. Trader made the dismissal with prejudice, denying the prosecutor the opportunity to recharge the case, because he said repeated failures by the prosecutor “suggest either a pattern of negligence at the very least or, perhaps even worse, bad faith.”
Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro said in a written statement that he disagrees with and is disappointed by Trader’s characterization of how his office handled the case.
“My office acted in good faith and in the interest of the people of Honolulu,” Kaneshiro said.
And while Kaneshiro said he takes responsibility for any delays caused by his office, he said the court must also be held accountable for its inability to set timely dates. He said he will consider whether there are grounds to appeal Trader’s ruling.
This was not the first indictment against Yoshimura, Simeona and Miller. They and six arcade workers were charged in a 414-count indictment in 2014, which came one day after a federal judge ruled that the machines are gambling devices that are illegal under state law.
The state later asked to have the indictment dismissed after the two deputy prosecutors handling the case admitted that they presented false testimony to the grand jury.
The state secured new indictments against the arcade workers in January and against Yoshimura, Simeona and Miller in February. The state immediately served the arcade workers with their indictment and arrest warrants. For Yoshimura, Simeona and Miller, prosecutors had a state judge seal their indictment and didn’t serve the three men their arrest warrants until three months later.
“The state’s offered absolutely no explanation or justification for the delay in service,” Trader said. “And given the nature and magnitude of this particular case, the court can reasonably infer that it was not simply due to oversight or negligence on (its) part, but had to be a deliberate choice on the prosecution’s behalf.”
Whatever the reason for the delay, it gave the defendants less time to prepare for trial because they refused to ask the court to push back their trial date. Their lawyers also say the state held back and was slow to turn over evidence.
“We still don’t have police reports that match up with the correct counts,” Keith Kiuchi, one of Yoshimura’s lawyers, told Trader.
Kiuchi also said — and Trader agreed — that the state presented the same or similar evidence that a previous judge who dismissed the first indictment had deemed was false.
Yoshimura, Simeona and Miller did not comment on the dismissal. Their lawyers said the three men have suffered because of the way the state handled the case. The lawyers said all three lost their businesses and their reputations.
Myles Breiner said Yoshimura lost his home, had to move in with his parents and struggles to pay his bills.
Tommy Otake, Simeona’s lawyer, said the two prosecutions have “put him through a lot. They put his family through a lot.”
All three defendants also had to post bail twice and hire lawyers for both prosecutions.
The six arcade workers charged in a separate indictment are still scheduled to stand trial later this month.
19 responses to “Gambling case against 3 men is dismissed”
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It’s funny that city prosecutor Kieth Kaneshiro disagrees with Circuit Judge Rom Trader, considering the judge himself is a former city prosecutor. One also has to question the judgement of Kieth Kaneshiro if he thinks pursuing this illegal gambling case for over 2 years is the best allocation of the finite resources for the prosecutor’s office.
That was a waste of time and money, what a bunch of untrained rookies.
legalize gambling already
yes
No love for Kaneshiro but he’s got a point. I’ve SEEN cases get continued by the court the same day AS court with the reason being that there is not enough time “that day” due to a heavy docket. One case…THREE times this happened until it went past stats.
giving the defendants “da slow die” treatment really works
hurting the pocketbook is a really effective tactic
slick move kaneshiro…..
Kaneshiro is a failure.
Deedy 2.0
They were able to get rid of the last judge. Wonder what will happen to this one since he also pointed out how bad prosecutors botched things in this case…
That’s right, the last judge that ruled against Kaneshiro was not retained by the Judicial selection commission. If the Democratic elite don’t like a Judge, they’re not retained. Mess with the Bull – you get the horns. I wonder if this Judge will survive his rulings against Kaneshiro.
Kaneshiro is proving that an elected prosecutor does not work. Kaneshiro has shown over and over that he is incompetent. He let an drunk driver killer off because they exceeded the statute of limitations. He testified to the City Counsel that they simply forgot about the case – in front of the victim’s family (he blamed the computer). Incredibly incompetent.
This headline should have read “Prosecutorial misconduct”. And it should advocate for Kaneshiro’s removal. The dude is as crooked as they come.
Kaneshiro has been in government too long. He needs to move on.
Why just because he’s insane and can’t accept defeat.
“My office acted in good faith and in the interest of the people of Honolulu,” Something tells me Kaneshiro was acting in the interest of a very select few. Curious if this witch hunt was politically or financially driven.
Waste time, and taxpayers $$$.
Keith Kaneshiro needs a fitness for duty examination. He needs to be seen by a professional. Early stages of the onset of dementia. He could be loosing it. The process is slow but relentless. He has shown some erratic behavior in the past two years. For Mr. Kaneshiro’s own good he should get checked out. Something is wrong that maybe corrected. I wish Mr. Kaneshiro no ill will. But he should seek professional help.
Katherine Kealoha was one of the original prosecuting lawyers but got removed after misconduct presenting to the grand jury.
As Usual, those in the legal system in Honolulu r stupid & Dumb! Use up all of our Tax papers $$$. i was told, they don’t care not their $$$. Need to make we r doing something so they still have a job to take care of they greedy needs. U figure it out, if ur smart……..