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The Maui News
WAILUKU -- A 30-day jail term was ordered for a man who said he had been drinking and had little recollection of firing shots near a house in Ulupalakua.
Justin Wood, 30, of Wailuku said he was grateful no one was hurt the night of Nov. 7, 2016, when police stopped him after the shots were reported. Police found a loaded Remington rifle in his vehicle.
"There is absolutely no excuse for my actions, absolutely none," he said as he was sentenced April 13 in 2nd Circuit Court.
Wood had pleaded no contest to reduced charges of second-degree reckless endangering and keeping an unloaded firearm in an improper place, as well as keeping ammunition in an improper place and not obtaining a permit to acquire a firearm.
As part of his sentence, he was placed on four years' probation and ordered not to consume alcohol or illegal drugs.
His attorney, Elizabeth Cuccia, said Wood works full time and had been doing well before the incident behind Bully's Burgers in Ulupalakua.
"He was sober for a while, and he fell off the wagon," she said. "When he did, it was a hard fall. It was a long fall.
"I'm sure it was terrifying, being in your house that night and then hearing shots fly past your house and not knowing what's going on."
Cuccia said Wood drank alcohol to the point where he had a blackout that night.
"In no way did he intend to shoot at someone's house," she said.
Judge Richard Bissen asked what had been going on that night.
"They weren't hunting. Apparently, they weren't trying to shoot at someone's home," Bissen said. "Who drinks and goes and gets a firearm and just starts shooting in public?"
"Someone who has a severe problem," Cuccia said.
She said Wood had been drinking and driving and "happened to run into people who had guns."
"They got into the car with him," she said. "It was just the drinking and driving that started it. It ended badly when he converged with the wrong group of people."
The judge noted that although Wood said he had a blackout, he spoke with police officers that night. "When the police stopped him, he had the wherewithal to deny being the one involved," Bissen said.
Wood also told police he hadn't heard any shots, he said.
Speaking in court, Wood's sponsor and friends said they knew of people who were able to carry on a conversation while in a blackout drunken state. Co-workers and friends described Wood as hardworking and committed to his sobriety.
Cuccia said Wood was seeing a counselor weekly to help him with his issues.
A plea agreement recommending probation for Wood took into account steps he had taken since his arrest, said Deputy Prosecutor Shelly Miyashiro.
She said Wood's prior convictions were for drunken driving in 2010, a parking violation in 2007 and disorderly conduct in 2006.
Before his latest arrest, Wood said he had been sober for years.
"All it took was a matter of weeks for me to end up in that situation," he said. "I can barely recollect. The worst thing I've lost is that time of sobriety and having that trust in myself. I understand how serious this is, how dangerous that incident was or could have been.
"I have no further interest in being around another firearm or another drink."
In sentencing Wood, Judge Bissen said he was impressed by the amount of support the defendant has from family and friends who appeared in the courtroom gallery Friday.
Bissen denied Wood's request to keep the convictions off his record.
Wood was ordered not to consume alcohol or illegal drugs.
He was allowed to serve the jail term during periods of two consecutive days starting April 22 so he could continue working.