WAILUKU — A 10-year prison term was ordered Friday for a man who had been given another chance at drug treatment when he stole a gold chain from a man and drove a stolen car toward two women.

Kaleo Kubo, 25, of Waiehu admitted he had violated his probation in five criminal cases, in addition to entering no-contest pleas to be sentenced in two new cases.

“What do we do with you at this point when we have so many cases, so many opportunities you’ve squandered along the way?” 2nd Circuit Judge Rhonda Loo said in sentencing Kubo.

“At the end of the sweepstakes, there’s either a big winner or loser,” she said. “The grand prize for you, unfortunately — all the tokens point to the only prize for you is a prison term.”

In two cases, Kubo pleaded no contest to second-degree theft, two counts of attempted first-degree assault and unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle.

The theft occurred the afternoon of April 20, 2018, when Kubo arranged to meet a man who was selling a gold rope chain at the top floor of the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center parking structure, according to a sentencing memorandum by Deputy Prosecutor Shelly Miyashiro. Kubo grabbed the 10 mm, 26-inch chain valued at $9,000 and ripped it away from the victim.

After being arrested in the case and posting bail to be released, Kubo again was arrested after he drove a stolen sedan that collided into an all-terrain vehicle carrying four people at a turn on Kahekili Highway near Kahakuloa Village on Aug. 18, 2018. Kubo was told to reverse the car down the hill toward the village because he was blocking traffic and was rolling it down because it wouldn’t start, according to the memorandum.

A woman was in front of the car to guide Kubo and motioned for him to pull over when they approached her banana bread stand. Instead, he overtook the woman and drove around her, according to the memorandum.

Another woman standing in the road near the stand tried to get out of the way but was struck by the side passenger mirror, the memorandum says. It says Kubo continued driving toward a third woman who had stepped out onto the road to stop the car and she was spun around and fell backward, suffering injuries to her left leg, tailbone, upper and lower back, back of her head and right hand.

Two people followed as Kubo sped away on the highway until he ran out of gas at Milepost 39 near Nakalele Point, according to the memorandum.

Miyashiro said Kubo’s criminal history includes 11 prior felony arrests and seven convictions for crimes including unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, second-degree theft, first-degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, first-degree resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle and third-degree promoting of a dangerous drug. He also has 26 arrests and eight convictions for misdemeanor offenses and 13 arrests and eight convictions for petty misdemeanor offenses or violations.

He was placed on four years’ probation in August 2014 before committing new crimes in late 2016, Miyashiro said.

He was admitted into the Maui Drug Court program of treatment and supervision in late 2017 before reportedly testing positive for illegal drugs and failing to show up for a court hearing in April 2018, she said.

In June 2018, his participation in the program was terminated, and he was sentenced to four years’ probation with the requirement that he again enter the Drug Court program. He couldn’t comply with requirements of his probation, Miyashiro said.

“The defendant has reached a point where prison is the only appropriate sentence,” she said in court Friday. “I understand the defendant may have a long history of substance abuse, but rather than try to address that, he continues to commit further crimes.

“His behavior escalated to the point that the victims in the most recent cases were injured, and they could have been injured more seriously.”

Deputy Public Defender Danielle Sears said Kubo had wanted to continue in Drug Court so he could receive treatment. “He is so very young,” she said, in asking that he be considered for probation rather than prison.

For the past two years, Kubo has been in jail, where programs haven’t been available, said defense attorney Gina Gormley.

She said long-term residential drug treatment could help Kubo, who started abusing drugs when he was 13. “That’s over half of his life,” she said.

He has a fiancee, two young children and two stepsons, as well as construction job skills, Gormley said.

Kubo said he had tried to stay busy while in jail and took 18 months to obtain the equivalent of his high school diploma.

“I’m ready to change my life,” he said.

Judge Loo said she understood Kubo was young “but old enough to know better.”

“As a young person, you managed to rack up quite a grocery list of charges,” she said. “How many cases does it take, how many innocent people have to get hurt or harmed? How many chances have you gotten over the years? Many, many chances.”

Kubo was resentenced to five-year prison terms in his probation cases, with all sentences to be served at the same time.

A July 17 hearing was set to determine restitution in his recent case.

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