Accused bank robbers
to stand trial

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By Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.com

Two accused bank robbers who withdrew their guilty pleas and proposed plea agreements with the government are going to trial after all.

Sean Matsunaga and Jacob Hayme refused yesterday -- against the advice of their attorneys -- to sign plea agreements that would have limited the charges and penalties they face, saying they wanted to plead guilty without an agreement.

U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway refused to let them do it after informing them of the consequences, and set their trial for Oct. 2.

Matsunaga and Hayme were allegedly part of a foursome who stormed the Kahala branch of American Savings Bank armed with assault rifles in July 1999, threatened employees and customers and fled with $115,000 cash. They fled a shootout with a police officer who was first at the scene.

Albert Batalona was tried in state court of attempted first-degree murder of the police officer. Hayme and Matsunaga pleaded guilty to bank robbery and two firearms offenses in federal court and agreed to testify against Batalona.

When it came time to testify, however, both refused. Batalona was convicted anyway and is serving a life term without parole and a mandatory minimum of 20 years.

Mollway allowed Matsunaga and Hayme to withdraw their guilty pleas earlier this month because the maximum penalties and sentencing guidelines had changed between the time they entered their pleas and sentencing.

Mollway told them yesterday that if they pleaded guilty to the charges without a plea agreement, the government could conceivably file additional charges against them and seek a life sentence, rather than the 20 years the government was offering.

Matsunaga said he wanted to plead guilty, but not to what the government was offering. "I feel we have good sentencing issues my lawyer can fight for," he said.

Hayme said: "If we go to trial, we go to trial together. If we plead, we plead together."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Johnson objected to Hayme and Matsunaga pleading guilty to the initial charges filed against them, saying it was not what they had negotiated.

Johnson confirmed the government can go to a federal grand jury and seek far more serious charges than what the men currently face.

For example, the weapon used by Batalona was proved at trial to be fully automatic, a federal offense punishable by a mandatory minimum of 30 years with the possibility of a life sentence.

Roger Dailey, the fourth defendant to be charged with bank robbery in this case, agreed to help the government and identified his cohorts, leading to their arrests. He is awaiting sentencing.