Robert. R. “Bobby” Titcomb, a close friend of President Barack Obama, pled no contest to a charge of prostitution this morning and was fined $500, but under a court agreement the charge will be stricken from his record if he stays clean for the next six months.

Titcomb, a Punahou School friend and a Hawaii golfing buddy with Obama, did not appear in District Court this morning and was represented by attorney William Harrison.

Harrison told District Judge Leslie Hayashi that Titcomb “was out of town.”

Titcomb, 49, was arrested at South and Pohukaina streets at 9:40 p.m. April 4 with three other men for prostitute during a Honolulu police sting operation in Kakaako targeting prostitution customers.

Titcomb was charged with solicitation and released after posting $500 bail. The offense is a petty misdemeanor that carries a maximum fine of $500, community service and up to 30 days in jail.

City deputy prosecutor Kurt Nakamatsu objected to Harrison’s request to waive Titcomb’s court appearance and the request for the deferral plea.

Nakamatsu said that Titcomb has already been granted one deferral for fleeing the scene of a 1989 accident — a petty misdemeanor charge.

“He already had a chance to keep his record clean,” Nakamatsu told Hayashi.

Harrison said it as been “a very difficult time” for Titcomb because of the publicity surrounding his client’s arrest. He declined to elaborate on the specifics of the case.

In June 1987, Titcomb was arrested for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor, a petty misdemeanor, and striking an unattended vehicle, a violation. He also was arrested for criminal contempt of court, a misdemeanor, and driving without a seat belt. He pleaded guilty to those charges in August 1989, was fined $290 and had his license suspended for 90 days. 

Last month Titcomb was convicted of a speeding offense.

Titcomb, 49, who lives in Waialua, played golf with Obama during the first family’s Christmas visit. On Dec. 30, the president and his family spent the day at Titcomb’s beachfront home in Mokuleia, where they ate barbecue, played volleyball and hung out on the beach.

In August 2008, Titcomb accompanied Obama when the future president dropped a floral tribute to his mother near Halona Blowhole, where her ashes were scattered.

Titcomb attended Punahou a year behind Obama but did not graduate from the school. Obama graduated in 1979.