High-speed chase, burglaries land woman in prison

Judge sentences Kihei resident to five years for eight different cases

WAILUKU -- Convicted on eight cases involving multiple burglaries, thefts and other crimes, including a high-speed chase from police near a school, a 27-year-old Kihei woman was sentenced to five years in prison.

Second Circuit Judge Kirstin Hamman handed down the sentence last month to Supiesi Toa Tongi, whose attorneys asked for probation while a prosecutor asked for a 10-year prison sentence for the cases that occurred over the past several years. An evidentiary hearing regarding restitution is set for June 9.

Hamman referenced letters from Tongi's family who said she is a good person and a good sister, which Hamman believed.

"Your drug addiction basically sounds like it stole who you are," Hamman said.

While the defense argued that Tongi be placed on probation and go to prison if she fails, the prosecution noted the long list of cases, Hamman said.

"You chose a life of crime. You didn't just choose it, you absolutely embraced it," Hamman said.

She added that she cannot recall having a change of plea form with as many cases as Tongi has.

"It's shocking, really, to see it on paper," Hamman said.

She added that prior to coming to work, she drove along High Street past Wailuku Elementary School, on the route that Tongi took while leading police on a high-speed chase "with zero regard" for the community.

She also referenced testimony by one of the burglary victims, who saw Tongi on security cameras at her home going around "with zero regard" for others.

Hamman said while everyone in Tongi's cases is a victim, the biggest victims in all of this are Tongi's family, who supported her in the courtroom during sentencing.

Tongi apologized to her family and at least two victims who were in the courtroom.

"I apologize for violating your house. I am really sorry," Tongi said.

She added that she has had a lot of time to think while sitting in jail and said she took too much for granted and did not think of the repercussions.

Tongi wanted to be a contributing member of society and live her life for the better.

Members of Tongi's family said she is a good person, but the drugs changed her, and they made no excuses for the bad choices that she made. They added that Tongi has changed for the better since being incarcerated and is now keeping in touch with the family, which she did not do before when she was on drugs.

One of Tongi's attorneys, Deputy Public Defender William Pannell, said Tongi was a drug addict "looking for a next hit" when committing the crimes.

He added that she would like probation so she can deal with the addiction.

"She wants a chance to be a contributing member of society and not ever do drugs again," he said.

He added that he spoke to Tongi about the impact her actions had on the victims.

"She showed remorse. She doesn't want to hurt anyone's lives anymore," said Pannell.

Deputy Public Defender Danielle Sears said Tongi does not have a history of probation nor rehabilitation programs, which may make her eligible to receive probation in these cases.

There are "huge success stories" about how addicts have changed their lives around, Sears said while advocating for probation.

But Deputy Prosecutor Sally Tobin asked for a 10-year prison sentence, noting there were 12 separate victims in the eight cases.

"She is not just a danger to the community, she is a menace," Tobin said.

She added that the crimes committed were "heartless crimes," and although no one was physically hurt, it affected victims in other ways -- for example, some no longer felt safe in their homes after Tongi broke in.

Tongi stole family heirlooms and in other cases stole and crashed vehicles.

Tobin said Tongi also doesn't follow court orders and she may have been a bad influence for a younger sister who has since been involved in separate crimes.

One of the victims in Tongi's burglary cases testified during sentencing but did not want to share her identity with the court as she was afraid of retaliation. The woman said that even though it has been more than two years since her home was broken into, "we are still fearful," and at one point she thought about selling the family home because of the burglary.

Family mementos were stolen, and the burglary has affected other aspects of her life, as she had to put a stop to her financial accounts, not knowing what was taken from the home.

In another case, Tongi broke into storage units at Kihei Self Storage with co-defendants.

In the eight cases, Tongi pleaded guilty to four counts of unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, one count of disobedience to a police officer, third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, second-degree criminal property damage, third-degree criminal property damage, unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, five counts of second-degree burglary, three counts of second-degree theft, two counts of fourth-degree criminal property damage and four counts of resisting to stop a motor vehicle, according to court records.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.