10 years for hit-and-run that killed Ocean View man

KEALAKEKUA — An Ocean View man who struck and killed a moped driver before fleeing the scene and later intimidating the man who was credited with breaking the case was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison Monday.

Jose Guadelupe-Rodriguez, 22, pleaded guilty to first-degree negligent homicide and accident involving death and no contest to intimidating a witness.

The accident that killed 29-year-old Ling Oniel happened on Jan. 19 at Kona Drive and Paradise Parkway in Ocean View.

Oniel was riding his black moped west on Kona Drive. As he entered the intersection, Guadalupe-Rodriguez ignored a stop sign, entered the intersection, and struck Oniel. Guadalupe-Rodriguez then fled the scene, according to court documents.

When he later replaced damaged panels on his vehicle after the accident, that information was relayed to officers as a possible tip in the case. Guadalupe-Rodriguez suspected a man had given police that information and threatened him on Feb. 16, saying he would beat the witness if he found out about the testimony.

Guadalupe-Rodriguez was represented by Jason Kwiat for the homicide charge and Joanna Sokolow for the intimidating a witness charge.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kuanoe Jackson argued that Guadalupe-Rodriguez had many opportunities to reform and had made conscious decisions to further his crime.

“The defendant was given a whole host of opportunities,” Jackson said.

Guadalupe-Rodriguez had been on probation previously and had never spoke with his probation officer, she said. He had been discharged from drug treatment and violence programs and had previously been cited for traffic violations. That included a citation for ignoring a stop sign issued Oct. 25, 2015.

Jackson said Guadalupe-Rodriguez was avoiding responsibility for the Jan. 19 accident. Kwiat argued Guadalupe-Rodriguez showed responsibility by entering the guilty plea.

Family troubles, education problems and drug addiction, led to Guadalupe-Rodriguez’s legal troubles, the defense said, and his family knows him as a different person than when he is on drugs.

“Addiction is not a choice. It is a not a character flaw,” said Sokolow, adding that there is an opportunity that will allow Guadalupe-Rodriguez to change his life.

Third Circuit Court Judge Ronald Ibarra asked about the missed opportunities in the probation period.

“Apparently, they were not interventions he needed at that time,” he said, as well as why Guadalupe-Rodriguez had turned off his lights that night as he drove through the intersection.

“To go faster,” Guadalupe-Rodriguez said, which caused the judge to blink in surprise.

“Does it affect your horsepower in your engine?” Ibarra asked after a moment.

Guadalupe-Rodriguez explained he meant it would allow him to more easily see oncoming traffic.

Guadalupe-Rodriguez also explained he was high on methamphetamine on the day of the accident until the day he threatened the witness later on. He was using about half a gram of meth a day, he said, which cost him about $100.

Earlier, Kwiat had said Guadalupe-Rodriguez would be willing to apologize to the Oniel family. During his talk with Guadalupe-Rodriguez, Ibarra told him to do that. Oniel’s brother and sister were sitting in the gallery. Guadalupe-Rodriguez twisted his body to face them and apologized, but the short apology didn’t satisfy Ibarra, who directed Guadalupe-Rodriguez to do so again.

Guadalupe-Rodriguez, wearing the prison brown with a wrist and belly chain, turned his whole body toward the two members of Oniel’s family.

“I apologize and ask for your forgiveness,” he said.

Earlier in the trial the family’s opinion was expressed by a letter by his sister, who wrote in Marshallese.

It was translated for the court by a translator via phone.

“We are deeply saddened because of the way he died, in a way we never expected,” the interpreter read.

“Oniel was humble and kind,” the interpreter said.