Fourth DUI puts Lahaina man in jail for one year

WAILUKU - For his fourth DUI conviction in three years, a Lahaina man was sentenced Thursday to a one-year jail term and ordered not to drive for the next five years.

"When you get behind the wheel of a vehicle intoxicated, your conduct exposes everyone on the highway to serious harm or death," 2nd Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza told 42-year-old Lando Cabulisan. "There's really nothing that can be said that can justify what you did."

As part of his sentence, Cabulisan was ordered to pay $1,414 in fines and fees and was placed on five years' probation.

He had pleaded no contest to the felony charge of habitually driving under the influence of alcohol and to driving while his license was suspended or revoked for DUI. The felony charge can be brought when someone is arrested for DUI after having three DUI convictions within the previous 10 years.

Cabulisan was arrested at 11:23 p.m. Dec. 18 after Lahaina patrol officer Kamuela Mawae saw a silver 2005 Mazda sedan going slowly through a stop sign on Kuialua Street at Lahainaluna Road, according to court records. The car then went makai on Lahainaluna Road, crossing the double solid yellow line. When the vehicle was stopped near Kelawea Street, the officer noted that Cabulisan had red watery eyes and an "overwhelming odor of alcoholic beverage on his breath."

Asked if he had been drinking, Cabulisan said he drank 10 12-ounce bottles of Corona beer at a party at a nearby residence, the officer reported.

Since his arrest, Cabulisan has attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and participated in counseling sessions through the Community Clinic of Maui, said defense attorney Donald Guzman. He asked that Cabulisan be sentenced to the mandatory minimum jail term of 30 days, noting that he was working to support his wife and five children in the Philippines.

"Unfortunately, Lando does have an alcohol problem," Guzman said. "He's made these mistakes in the past, but I don't think he's been serious about changing his life. Sometimes in a person's life, something serious has to happen in order to get a jolt. At this point in his life, he's prepared to make that change."

But Deputy Prosecutor Melinda Mendes argued for the one-year jail term, saying Cabulisan hadn't learned from his three prior DUI arrests and convictions.

"I'm sure he's a good man normally, but the problem is he has been playing Russian roulette with our community for the past several years," she said. "But for the grace of God, every time he got behind that wheel, somebody could have been dead or badly injured."

Mendes outlined Cabulisan's history of DUI arrests, starting after a 2005 motor vehicle collision when his blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.158 percent, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

In November 2005, his blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.149 percent during another DUI arrest, she said, and he told a police officer, "I have five kids. I'm so sorry. I learned my lesson."

A third DUI arrest occurred in January 2007 when Cabulisan was seen driving 75 mph to 85 mph and crossing lane markings on Prison Street in Lahaina, Mendes said. "We don't know how drunk he was then because he declined to take the test," she said.

Cabulisan also declined to be tested after his latest arrest.

"I know I have committed a very serious mistake in my life, and I'm very sorry for that," Cabulisan said in court Thursday. "I hope you give me this last chance. I promise that this won't be happening again."

He asked if he could serve his jail time on weekends so he could continue working two jobs to support his family.

Asked how he was getting to work, Cabulisan said he rode his moped.

Because a driver's license is required to operate a moped, Cardoza said Cabulisan would have to find another way to get to work. The judge said Cabulisan could be released from jail to go to work on weekdays so he could continue supporting his family. He was ordered to turn himself in after work Thursday to serve his jail term.

In imposing the sentence, Cardoza referred to the words of Cabulisan's co-worker who described how she had killed a man when she drove home after drinking at a party in California. "I wasn't fortunate to be pulled over by the cops," the woman said in court Thursday. When she got out of her car after the collision, she said she heard the man's children yelling.

"I can't let you jeopardize someone else's life like that," Cardoza told Cabulisan. "On the other hand, you do seem to be trying to make progress. But I have no way of knowing how long that's going to last. And I have no way of knowing that if this happens again, you won't end up killing someone."

Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.