HomeMy WebLinkAboutNR101917Lihuemansentencedtoyearinjailforattackingendangeredseaturtle
C OU NT Y O F KAU A‘I
BERNARD P. CARVALHO JR.
Mayor
WALLACE G. REZENTES JR.
Managing Director
OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
News Release
For Immediate Release: October 19, 2017
JUSTIN KOLLAR, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
Tel (808) 241-1888
Fax (808) 241-1758
Līhu‘e man sentenced to year in jail for attacking endangered sea turtle
LĪHU‘E – Prosecuting Attorney Justin F. Kollar announced that Lance Kaaumoana, age
36, was sentenced this week to serve one year in jail for attacking an endangered Pacific green
sea turtle in April 2017.
The sentence was handed down in the Environmental Court by the Honorable Judge
Michael K. Soong after he heard arguments from Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Herndon
and Kaaumoana’s public defender.
Officers from the Kaua‘i Police Department and the Department of Land and Natural
Resources were called to the Nāwiliwili jetty area on April 15, 2017 after witnesses saw
Kaaumoana repeatedly stabbing the turtle with a knife. The turtle was seriously injured but
survived the incident and released back into the wild several days later. Kaaumoana was cited
for violating section 13-124-11 of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes and received the maximum
sentence for the misdemeanor offense. In July 2017, Kaaumoana pled no contest to the charge.
“In Hawai‘i we take the protection of our marine environment very seriously. This was a
truly senseless attack on a peaceful animal and we are satisfied that the Judge imposed the
maximum sentence,” stated Kollar. “W e thank our partners at the Kaua‘i Police Department, the
DLNR investigators for their swift response, as well as Kaua‘i District Aquatic Biologist Don
Heacock for his efforts to rehabilitate the injured turtle. We will continue to vigorously prosecute
these cases.”
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