Slain inmate awaited plea deal

The 76-year-old inmate who was fatally beaten in his cell March 9 hadn’t minded waiting for more than two years behind bars for his robbery trial, his lawyers say.

That’s because they were trying to negotiate a plea deal that would keep him from dying in prison.

Accounts by his attorneys and government reports paint a portrait of a career criminal whose only confirmed instances of violence were against himself.

Cyrl Chung had a lengthy criminal record and suffered two self-inflicted gunshot wounds, documents say. One gunshot resulted in "severe disfigurement of his face and the partial loss of his skull at the right front cranial area," one report says.

But his lawyers say his suicidal tendencies had passed.

"I don’t believe he wanted to die in prison," said supervising attorney Susan Arnett of the state Public Defender’s Office, which represented Chung.

Chung was placed in a special holding cell at the Oahu Community Correctional Center for disciplinary reasons.

With him was an inmate twice his size who was accused of assault and had a history of mental problems.

An Oahu grand jury last week indicted Joseph Tui Jr., 32, on a charge of first-degree murder.

Chung’s criminal record, which includes robbery and terroristic threatening, dates back to the 1950s, when he was in his late teens, state and federal reports show.

His last major conviction was for a robbery at a Bank of America branch on July 18, 1995, and a Bank of Hawaii branch the following day. A federal judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison as an "armed career offender."

In 2008, Chung was placed on supervisory release.

He was arrested two years later on misdemeanor sexual assault charges in a case involving four women at the St. Patrick’s food pantry in Palolo. He posted $2,000 bond for his release.

In a report notifying a federal judge about the arrest and requesting modifications on the conditions of his supervisory release, the U.S. Probation Office said Chung was working at the food pantry as a volunteer and living on Social Security.

In the state court file, police quote Chung as telling them he worked at the pantry since the year of his release and rose to "second in command." He told police he never touched two of the women and that the other two let him fondle them so they could get food.

Because Chung did not have any prior arrests or convictions for sexual offenses, the sexual assault charges were "unexpected and inexplicable," the probation report said.

In view of the arrest, a federal judge ordered Chung to undergo drug testing and participate in a mental health program.

In 2011, Circuit Judge Edward Kubo permanently dismissed the charges when city prosecutors asked for a postponement of the trial because two of the women withdrew their complaints.

Chung’s deputy public defender said he and Chung were ready for trial and asked for the dismissal, the court file said.

It was while Chung was free on bail in the sex assault case that he was arrested on Feb. 15, 2011, and charged with second-degree robbery at Walmart on Keeaumoku Street.

He was accused of going to the store’s Money Center, putting a white plastic bag on the counter and telling Walmart workers he had a gun and wanted $20, $50 and $100 bills.

According to a police report, Chung walked away without money and was seen going to an apartment on Sheridan Street.

Police entered the apartment when they saw him appearing to stab himself. Chung refused commands to put down the knife and was arrested after a brief struggle, the report said.

He was then rushed by ambulance to the Queen’s Medical Center for a possible heart attack, according to the report.

Arnett, of the Public Defender’s Office, said Chung suffered multiple, but superficial, stab wounds.

The circumstances of the robbery case suggest that Chung might have wanted to be placed back in prison.

"It may have been that prison was a place that was more of a known quantity to him than freedom," Arnett said.

She estimated Chung had spent about 28 years in prison.

Chung had been in custody since his arrest.

His trial was originally scheduled for May 2011, but was repeatedly delayed at the request of Chung and his lawyers as they tried to work out a plea agreement.

Second-degree robbery carries a maximum 10-year term. Given Chung’s age, that sentence likely meant he would never get out.

But negotiations stalled as the defense waited for Chung’s medical records from the federal prison on the mainland in which he was incarcerated.

Arnett said attorneys wanted Chung’s records to show he had a heart attack, heart problems and high blood pressure to bolster their efforts at reaching a plea deal and a sentence of less than 10 years.

Chung was not suicidal and was willing to remain at Oahu Community Correctional Center during the negotiations, Arnett said.

His pretrial prison time would have counted toward whatever sentence he received, she said.

"We’re absolutely satisfied with our representation of Mr. Chung," she said. "Everything was done with his consent and understanding."

The only comment from city prosecutors was that the public defenders were "awaiting documents to support their position in plea negotiations."

Chung was placed in the special holding cell where prisoners are sent for misconduct because he was caught with contraband cigarettes. Tui was put in the holding cell because he threatened a staff member.

The two inmates shared the same cell because of overcrowding, according to Department of Public Safety officials.

Tui is 6 feet tall and about 214 pounds, while Chung stood 5 feet 4 inches and weighed 108 pounds, according to court records.

Arnett called it "disturbing" that public safety officials placed Chung in a cell with someone who had a history of aggressive conduct and mental problems.

She said it merits an investigation so it doesn’t happen again.

Toni Schwartz, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman, said it’s too "preliminary for us to comment at this time because the Honolulu Police Department and Internal Affairs Office investigations are continuing."

The latest date for Chung’s trial was April 22.

The Public Defender’s Office, Arnett said, received Chung’s medical records on March 8, the day before he died.