Man gets 2 life terms
for 2002 crime spree
A man who pleaded guilty to murder for the slaying of one man and attempted murder of another during a two-month crime spree last year received two life prison terms yesterday, vowing to never reveal his accomplice.
Markes Rapozo said he takes responsibility for killing Earl Hirakawa during a March 6, 2002, drug deal and critically wounding another man in a pawnshop shootout in Kapahulu on March 16, 2002.
Rapozo showed little remorse for his actions, saying "To the families: I'm sorry, too. But things happen. That's just the way life is out there."
"I have accomplices and I will not name them ever," Rapozo said. "I will go to the grave with them, but that's just how I am. I am not a rat."
Rapozo's guilty pleas for murder, attempted murder, robbery and drug charges yielded him two life terms and a 20-year sentence, to run concurrently.
Hirakawa's brother, Ricky Hirakawa, told Rapozo and the court, "There are days that I have this deep pain because he took not only my brother, but my friend."
Rapozo had eight prior felony convictions, including robbery and burglary, prosecutors said.
