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One of four men who pretended to be police officers in a home invasion robbery in Aiea last August is going to prison for at least 10 years.
A state judge Tuesday sentenced James K. Kaleopaa Jr. to 20 years in prison for robbery. Because Kaleopaa used a firearm in the robbery, Circuit Judge Randal O. Lee ordered him to serve at least 10 years of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. The Hawaii Paroling Authority can set a higher minimum.
Kaleopaa, 26, is the only one of the four robbers arrested and charged with the crime.
He pleaded no contest in March to assault, impersonating a law enforce- ment officer, burglary, five counts of kidnapping, four counts of robbery and using a firearm to commit the kidnapping and robbery.
Lee also sentenced him to 10 years in prison for kidnapping, five years for impersonating a law enforcement officer and a year for assault. Those prison terms will run at the same time as the 20-year sentence.
When Kaleopaa committed the Aug. 22 robbery, there was a $20,000 warrant for his arrest for skipping out on his sentencing for theft and unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle.
Lee Tuesday sentenced Kaleopaa to five years each for the theft and auto break-in. Those sentences will also run with the 20-year sentence.
Police said four men with badges and a pistol went to an Aiea house, said they were police officers and told two men in the driveway to lie on the ground. The robbers then went inside the house, ordered the five people there to empty their pockets, took their property then drove away in a pickup truck, police said.