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A state agency has sustained the revocation of the driver’s license of former Deputy Prosecutor Jon Riki Karamatsu for failing to submit to a breath, blood or urine test in a traffic stop April 4.
His license was taken away, and he was issued a temporary permit shortly after his arrest.
The Administrative Driver’s License Revocation Office said Karamatsu’s license and privilege to drive a vehicle are revoked for two years starting May 5.
In its decision Wednesday, the office said the ruling was based on Karamatsu’s refusal to submit to a breath, blood or urine test after being informed of the sanctions for refusal.
The ADLRO said there also existed probable cause to believe Karamatsu was driving under the influence of an intoxicant.
Karamatsu, 40, who resigned as deputy prosecutor after his arrest, is scheduled to make an initial appearance in Honolulu District Court at 8:30 a.m. May 1 on a charge of operating a vehicle while under the influence.
When he was a state House member in 2007, Karamatsu was convicted of drunken driving.
At 12:56 a.m. April 4, Karamatsu was driving a pickup truck when he was stopped at a police sobriety checkpoint at Ala Moana Boulevard and Hobron Lane, according to a police report filed with the license revocation office.
A police officer said the truck was parked at an angle not parallel to the sidewalk, and he instructed Karamatsu to move closer to the curb so the incoming vehicles in the checkpoint area wouldn’t hit the back of his truck, the report said.
The police officer said Karamatsu appeared "dazed" and had bloodshot eyes, and his face was slightly red and shiny.
"I could also smell a strong odor of an alcoholic-type beverage … from within the truck," the officer said.
"When asked, he stated he had a few drinks early in the evening."
The officer said Karamatsu failed a standardized field sobriety test.
In one of the tests, Karamatsu’s left and right eyes failed to smoothly track a pen held by the officer, the report alleged.
The officer said Karamatsu also failed to follow instructions and began a test that required walking before he was instructed to start.
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