HomeMy WebLinkAboutNR111617Prisonsentenceinstolencarcase
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: November 16, 2017
JUSTIN KOLLAR, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
Tel (808) 241-1888
Fax (808) 241-1758
Prison sentence in stolen car case
LĪHU‘E – Stephen Kaliko Makanani, age 32 of Kapa‘a, was sentenced to serve five years
in prison following his conviction on two felony charges relating to the theft of a vehicle from the
parking lot behind the Dragon Building in Kapa‘a, in October 2016.
Makanani was found guilty following a three-day jury trial presided over by Fifth Circuit
Chief Judge Randal G.B. Valenciano. The jury found Makanani guilty of Unauthorized Control of
a Propelled Vehicle and Unauthorized Entry into a Motor Vehicle in the First Degree, both class
C felonies. The two five-year terms were ordered to run concurrently. Makanani’s court-
appointed defense lawyer requested that Makanani be placed on probation.
Testimony during the trial revealed that Makanani stole the vehicle from the parking lot in
the early morning of October 28, 2016 and was seen by the owner returning it nearly five hours
later. The owner of the vehicle confronted Makanani and photographed him exiting the vehicle,
but Makanani escaped and was apprehended several weeks later by the Kaua‘i Police
Department after a warrant for Makanani’s arrest was obtained.
Makanani’s prior criminal history includes eight felony convictions from four different
cases, including convictions for Burglary, Illegal Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Theft of
Credit Card, Unauthorized Control of Propelled Vehicle, and Unauthorized Possession of
Confidential Personal Information. Makanani’s parole in those cases expired less than three
months before the charges in this case arose.
In this case, Makanani was charged and prosecuted as a persistent offender and a
multiple offender by the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Career Criminal Unit. The jury
declined to make a finding that would double the possible prison sentence from 10 to 20 years in
this case. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Sean Van Demark prosecuted the case for the State of
Hawai‘i. At sentencing, Van Demark requested that the two five-year terms be ordered to run
consecutively.
“This sentence sends a message that repeat offenders will be held accountable for their
actions in our community,” stated Prosecuting Attorney Justin F. Kollar. “W e thank the jury for its
service and I commend DPA Van Demark and the KPD investigators who helped bring this case
to a successful conclusion.”
Stephen Kaliko Makanani, age 32 of Kapa‘a
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