Judge sentences
mainland inmate
via video hookup

Poepoe Mika, 28, gets
20 years without parole for
robbery and other offenses

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

Modern technology made it possible for a judge in Honolulu to conduct a sentencing hearing with a Hawaii man imprisoned in Minnesota, saving the state thousands of dollars.

"There were no major problems," Circuit Judge Victoria Marks said of Hawaii's first interstate video-conferencing hearing in which she sentenced Poepoe Mika, 28, to serve a mandatory minimum 20 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

"Eyeball-to-eyeball is better than talking to someone 4,000 miles away," the judge added. "It will be great once the video-conferencing equipment is in the courts."

Marks yesterday made an exception and moved her court to the Hawaii Paroling Authority office at 250 S. King St. for the hearing, to accommodate the Department of Public Safety.

The 30-minute video-conferencing hearing saved the state the cost of transporting Mika back from the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, Minn.

"My guess is, it saved between $6,500 and $8,000," said Ted Santiago, the Public Safety Department's corrections supervisor in charge of monitoring Hawaii inmates in mainland facilities.

Mika had waived his right to appear in court here and changed his plea to guilty for six counts of first-degree robbery, two counts each of kidnapping and firearm offenses, and one count each of burglary, theft and auto theft stemming from six incidents in February and March last year.

"He informed his attorney that he did not want to return to Hawaii for fear he would not be sent back," Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chris Van Marter. "Apparently, he's happy with his environment as compared with the facility in Hawaii."

Mika currently is in prison for a prior burglary/

robbery conviction, Van Marter said.

Santiago said Public Safety is testing video-conferencing equipment that costs $500, which could be set up in court within a month.

"We're basically hooking up a regular telephone with a television," he said. "When the technology comes online, it'll allow judges to talk to people in other countries and states without leaving court."