Tulimasealii pleads not guilty
University of Hawaii football player Kennedy Tulimasealii today pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of assault and one count each of resisting arrest and harassment.
University of Hawaii football player Kennedy Tulimasealii today pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault, and one count each of resisting arrest and harassment.
District Court Judge Lono J. Lee assigned the case to Circuit Court for an arraignment and plea on May 23.
The assault and resisting arrest charges are misdemeanors. Harassment is a petty misdemeanor.
The charges stem from an April 12 incident involving Tulimasealii and his ex-girlfriend at a McCully Street apartment. UH football player Ka‘aumoana Gifford also was charged with resisting arrest and harassment.
“It’s all been coming one way,” Tulimasealii’s attorney Michael Green said of the charges. “We’re hearing their side of it. No one’s had a chance to talk about him and actually what happened that night. I’ve spoken to the witnesses. I know what happened in that house.”
Green said is hopes to avoid a trial, insisting the charges are “all deferrable. There’s no reason for him to have a conviction on anything.”
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
Gifford’s attorney Paul Cunney entered a not-guilty plea on the resisting arrest and harassment charges. Cunney then successfully petitioned to consolidate those charges with a separate charge in which Gifford is accused of leaving the scene of a car accident in March. Judge Lee agreed to move both proceedings to June 3 in District Court.
“We want to put a ribbon around the whole set of cases,” Cunney said.
Cunney said Gifford was a “Good Samaritan” when he was accused of interfering with Tulimasealii’s arrest. Police had used pepper spray to subdue Tulimasealii, who was not wearing clothes when he ran out of the McCully complex.
“All Ka‘au did was try to cover hm up because the neighbors were coming out and saw the guy there with no clothes,” Cunney said.
As for the traffic incident, Cunney said, Gifford left the scene of a fender-bender when he could not reach a financial settlement with the other driver.
Cunney said he is seeking a deferred plea in which Gifford would plead no contest but his record would be expunged if he remains trouble-free for a specific length of time.
Gifford received a waiver enabling him not to appear in court this morning. Cunney said Gifford is grieving over the recent deaths of his mother and his best friend.
Tulimasealii and Gifford are Waianae-raised defensive tackles. They have been on indefinite suspension from team-related activities since their April 12 arrests. They remain on scholarship and are permitted to attend classes.
Tulimasealii declined to comment this morning except to say he has two final examinations this week.
UH head coach Nick Rolovich declined to comment until after he consults with UH athletic director David Matlin.
32 responses to “Tulimasealii pleads not guilty”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
He is allowed to “attend classes and go to study hall.” Good grief.
Well, we allowed your trivaling mediocre troll self here….good grief
That said, my money is on Michael Green.
and you were most fortunate….
Fafa troll get back under the bridge in Chinatown.
You know nothing of the facts but yet you continue to throw others under the bus and look down at athletes at the UH. You are an incredibly sad piece of work.
I think she feels that UH generally favors their athletes over other students when it comes to misconduct and criminal instances. I feel the same way. UH exists primarily to educate their students using tax dollars and each student should be treated equally. No slap on the wrist because one’s a football jock.
Mento!
Sad to say Tulimasealii playing days are over at Manoa. It would take a miracle for him to see him in a Warrior uniform again. What a waste. His life was set.
He wasted a chance to play another season of college football and quite possibly a chance at the NFL and making a handsome living. As it is now hopefully he can turn his life around, get his degree and become a positive member of society.
No life is set. We all go through adversity and I’m sure you have had your share too. As we all do and hopefully so do these young men, will learn from these incidents and be better individuals and follow the right path.
Well said.
Ditto. If I were a betting man I would say when everything is said and done he will play in the NFL provided there is no drugs involved.
Agree.
Hopefully they learn something from this experience. Everyone scr ews up once in a while. It’s if they learn from it and make their lives better after making these mistakes since they have a lot more life to live after college and probably will run into the same situations over and over and have to make decisions on how to conduct themselves each time.
They’re both guilty and everyone, including the weeping boys themselves, know it.
yup
What are you judge and jury to speak for all of us? Look you have one ally allie.
it is a dominant ally though…determinative…dispositive.
Trying to salvage scholarship and potential pro-career? Life’s hard lesson, behave and respect the opposite sex! Bullying will not work in the market place.
You know what is amazing how people react to their own prejudices and make comments without knowing all the facts but it is the human condition of a flawed society.
Self defense. He was protecting himself from one Monsta Tita.
Les,I swear it was Not My poi mixing arm he was up against! (Or my luau feet.)
Well it was an ex girlfriend maybe she’s the instigator.
Yawn….enough of this story already…..old news
We need him. UH has a history of second chances. Colt, Bess, a couple of others.
Both individuals are trying to take a deferred plea…..but why….If u are innocent u take it to trail and let either the judge or a jury find u innocent…are they afraid that the truth will come out during trail????
Waste money that’s why. Manini charge except it and move on.
Well, allie has stirred the pot and you are giving her/him their jollies again. If you try hard and ignore every single comment as if they don’t exist, someday allie and her possible aliases will stop bothering you. Negative reinforcement.
They have two of the best defense attorneys money can buy in Hawaii. They will do well in court. Hopefully they’ll learn something from this and move on.
We need them on the team. Look what happen to Joey. We could have won a couple more games last year. Cops do worse, like we get sued for thousands. We are going to be lucky we don’t get sued for dragging Kennedy into the street butt naked. Kaneshiro & Kealoha against Cunney & Green?
Don’t make me laugh.
If anything at all, looks like somebody from the high fashion world spruced up his eye brows. Hello, male fashion athlete?