HONOLULU — A U.S. judge is allowing a former Honolulu police chief convicted in a corruption case to meet with family and friends in Washington state before he begins serving a seven-year prison sentence in Oregon.
U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright on Monday approved Louis Kealoha’s travel request. Kealoha will travel to the Seattle area on May 29 and then drive to the federal correctional facility in Sheridan, Oregon, where he will begin his sentence on June 1, said his attorney Rustam Barbee.
In March, Seabright delayed Kealoha’s surrender date to allow him time to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Kealoha received his second shot of the Pfizer vaccine about two weeks ago, Barbee said.
Kealoha and his now-estranged wife, a former high-ranking Honolulu prosecutor, were sentenced in November for using his position as chief to frame a relative for a crime he didn’t commit in Hawaii’s biggest corruption case.
Katherine Kealoha, who prosecutors said stole money from her own grandmother to support the couple’s lavish lifestyle, was sentenced to 13 years in prison. She’s incarcerated at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center.
Louis Kealoha filed for divorce after they were convicted. He will go forward with finalizing the divorce while incarcerated, Barbee said.