An Oahu Circuit Court jury Thursday found a 41-year-old Waikele man guilty of first-degree arson and related crimes for setting fire to his estranged wife’s Kakaako workplace in 2019 and terrorizing her boss, two insurance adjusters and a police officer who shot him outside his Waikele home.

Casey Y. Asato will be sentenced Nov. 22 and is facing a possible 20-year sentence for the arson charge as well as additional prison time for a firearm offense, reckless endangering, four counts of first-degree terroristic threatening and two counts of second-degree terroristic threatening — the last two charges involving heated conversations with his wife that she testified made her fear for her life and in one instance caused her to flee her home with her children and parents.

Judge Paul Wong ordered that Asato be held without bail until sentencing. He had been free on a $1 million bond.

Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm said the verdict “will keep Asato behind bars for many years,” adding, “We will be seeking the maximum prison term for him.”

Asato testified during the trial that he was just looking for his children on Feb. 21, 2019, after his wife, Danielle Asato, now Loughlin, had cut off all communication following an angry conversation on Feb. 8, 2019.

He said it was a stressful time as he had assumed the couple’s mortgage by himself, he was not seeing his two young daughters and “everything is compounded.”

Loughlin testified she obtained a temporary restraining order against Asato on Feb. 11, 2019, but didn’t take it to police until Feb. 18 to have it served and went into hiding, staying in hotels.

Unaware of the restraining order, Asato went to his daughter’s preschool on Feb. 21 and was told there was paperwork prohibiting him from being at the school, according to testimony. He then confronted Loughlin at her nearby workplace, Advanced Collision Center on Kawaiahao Street, asking where the children were. He got no answers and left.

Loughlin left the auto body shop and reported to police that she was afraid he would return to shoot up the place.

Asato did return that day with a semi-automatic pistol and a bucket of gasoline. He said he confronted her boss, Joseph Miao, and fired a warning shot into the floor when Miao laughed at him. Two GEICO insurance adjusters at the shop hid when they heard the gunshot.

Deputy Prosecutor Leigh Okimoto said Asato then kicked over the bucket of gasoline in the reception area, lit it with a lighter and fled.

When cross-examined, Asato said he didn’t recall dumping out the bucket of gas or lighting it. He also denied earlier telling Loughlin, “I choose to let you breathe,” or that he would drag her out of the car or pull everyone out of the house.

Asato said he went back to work and was surprised when he arrived home to see two vehicles come “screeching around the corner, and everyone was pointing rifles at me.”

Okimoto said Asato was holding a handgun when confronted by police. He was shot after failing to drop the weapon as ordered by police, she said.

Police officer Garrett Maekawa testified Asato was flipping the handgun up and down in his hand, and when the defendant moved from where he was standing, the officer felt in imminent danger and fired four shots from his AR-15, critically injuring Asato.

In his closing argument, defense attorney Michael Park tried to paint a sympathetic picture of Asato as a loving father to his girls, ages 9 and 3 at the time, and a husband who provided for the family and allowed his wife to do as she pleased.

He claimed it was Asato who asked for a divorce in 2016 and 2017 because Loughlin said she was unhappy.

Asato had testified he worked full time as a construction foreman and also cleaned the house and cooked for the family while also making sure his children ate, bathed and brushed their teeth.

In her closing arguments, Okimoto said the case was not about whether Asato was a good father or about the couple’s marriage, but whether Asato committed the crimes he was charged with.