A federal prosecutor in the USO Family prison gang racketeering trial told the judge Tuesday that one of his witnesses is refusing to testify because the witness "is in fear of his safety."
Not only did Allan Abihai refuse to testify, but he also refused to enter the courtroom.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Brady said Abihai "doesn’t want the defendants to see his face."
U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi asked Brady whether he would like her to compel Abihai to testify.
Brady said he’d like at least a few days to decide what to do.
Abihai, 51, was scheduled to testify Tuesday against former Halawa Correctional Facility guard Feso Malufau and inmate Tineimalo Adkins. The two men were among 18 indicted last year on racketeering-related charges. The others have pleaded guilty.
Abihai’s is one of 16 names prosecutors had blacked out when they submitted their witness list two weeks ago.
USO is the abbreviation for United Samoan Organization. "Uso" also means "brother" in Samoan.
State prison officials said Hawaii inmates started USO in 1995 to defend themselves against other inmates in private prisons on the mainland. The prisons later separated the Hawaii inmates, but USO continued and is the most dominant Hawaii prison gang, state officials said.
Adkins, 34, is charged with leading a brutal gang assault on a fellow inmate at Halawa in February 2013.
Malufau, 55, is charged with taking bribes to smuggle drugs and cigarettes into HCF for the gang.
Kobayashi ruled Friday that Malufau can tell the jurors that the state Department of Public Safety investigated him in 2009 and 2010 over contraband trafficking and had cleared him of any wrongdoing.
DPS fired Malufau in September 2012. The department has yet to release the reason for the firing because Malufau can still appeal.
On Thursday the government filed documents under seal asking the court for permission "to admit newly discovered evidence regarding defendant Tineimalo Adkins’ witness intimidation."
Kobayashi has yet to rule on the request.
Still, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Otake told Kobayashi, "We were a little shocked (Tuesday)" by Abihai’s refusal to testify.
Abihai is serving a life prison term for a 1985 state conviction for attempted murder. He also has convictions for rape, sex abuse, kidnapping, car theft and robbery.
In November 2006 Abihai failed to return to the Laumaka Work Furlough facility. State sheriff deputies recaptured him two months later, and the state charged him in 2009 with escape. A state judge dismissed the case because the state took too long to charge Abihai.
The state paroled Abihai in October 2009 but took him back into custody eight months later for violating parole.
DPS again placed Abihai on work furlough, but on June 10 he again failed to return to Laumaka. State sheriff and deputy U.S. marshals recaptured Abihai 19 days later.
