JUDGE REFUSES TO HONOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD

WAILUKU - A judge said the court wouldn't recognize a medical
marijuana card for a man who was ordered to perform 500 hours of
community service as part of five years' probation in a drug case.

Kaleo Roberson, 35, also was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine as part of
his sentence imposed July 29.

Second Circuit Judge Shackley Raffetto followed a plea agreement in
sentencing Roberson, who had pleaded no contest to two counts each of
first-degree promotion of a detrimental drug and possessing drug
paraphernalia.

Police obtained a warrant to search Roberson's residence on Haumana
Road after marijuana plants were seen on the property by helicopter
during a marijuana-eradication mission, according to court records.

When the warrant was executed May 12, 2009, vice officers reported
finding plastic bags containing 490.27 grams of marijuana in a kitchen
cabinet, $1,030 and 12.7 grams of marijuana in the master bedroom closet.

In a unit of the residence occupied by Graem Kronewitter, 35, police
reported finding four pounds of marijuana under a couch, as well as a
digital scale, empty plastic bags and a burnt marijuana cigarette.

Roberson admitted that 35 of 100 marijuana plants found on the
property belonged to him, according to police.

The plants had been moved so they couldn't be seen from the air, and
Roberson admitted to hiding the plants under brush, according to
police reports.

Defense attorney Ben Lowenthal said Roberson recognized that "in doing
what he did, he has jeopardized his family and hurt this community."

"The agreement gives him an opportunity to show the community he can
do some good," Lowenthal said.

As part of the sentence, Raffetto ordered Roberson not to consume
alcohol or illegal drugs.

"I am not going to recognize your medical marijuana card, so if you
test positive for that, you will be in violation," Raffetto told Roberson.

The judge said the only way Roberson's medical marijuana card would be
valid is if he obtains a statement under oath from a physician stating
a specific diagnosis that requires treatment with marijuana and saying
there was no alternative to marijuana to treat the condition.

"You need to change your life because if you violate your probation, I
will send you to prison," Raffetto told Roberson. "You can count on
it. You're not above the law. You have to follow the law just like
everybody else."

Kronewitter is awaiting sentencing Aug. 19 after pleading no contest
to a reduced charge of first-degree promotion of a detrimental drug
and possessing drug paraphernalia.

In another sentencing Wednesday, a 21-year-old Pukalani man was given
a chance to keep a burglary conviction off his record if he follows
court requirements for five years.

William Littleton was given credit for 85 days he previously spent in
jail and ordered not to consume alcohol or illegal drugs.

He had pleaded no contest to first-degree burglary of a residence on
Alii Koa Place in Haiku on Feb. 3.

Police were called to the home shortly after 2 a.m. after a resident
reported being beaten with a baseball bat. Residents had subdued one
of the burglars, later identified as Littleton, and had bound his
wrists and ankles with duct tape.

Two other burglars fled, according to police reports.

Littleton later told police that he and two friends had hitchhiked to
the home because they heard the residents had marijuana and they
planned to steal some to smoke, according to court records.

Since being released on supervision, Littleton had been working with
his mother and enrolled in the University of Hawaii Maui College, said
Deputy Public Defender William "Pili" McGrath.

"This is a young man with a lot of potential," McGrath said. "He got
involved in this crime by being naive and stupid."

Second Circuit Judge Joel August said Littleton's use of illegal drugs
probably affected his judgment.

"I think this will be to his advantage," McGrath said after the
sentence was imposed. "He was going nowhere till he got busted."

A case is pending against Immanuel Hanker, who was also charged in the
burglary.