Prosecutors want
‘gangland’ killer
behind bars as
long as possible

Wallace 'Dido' Rodrigues
is deemed one of the isles'
most dangerous people

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

Prosecutors are expected to ask for the longest minimum term possible for a Waianae man convicted in the 1990 "gangland slaying" of an alleged drug dealer. Wallace "Dido" Rodrigues also faces trial in two other murders and is serving time for yet another killing.

Rodrigues, found guilty of manslaughter in the February 1990 death of Leo Tuaoa, was expected to appear today before the Hawaii Paroling Authority, which will decide how much time he must serve before he is eligible for parole.

Circuit Judge Wendell Huddy in May sentenced Rodrigues to life in prison with the possibility of parole, with a mandatory minimum of 20 years because a firearm was used in the commission of the crime.

Tuaoa, shot point blank in the face and in the chest, was found in the trunk of his burning car in Makaha.

Rodrigues is already serving a mandatory minimum five-year term for manslaughter in the 1995 death of Wayne Pemberton, who was shot in the head and run over.

Police last year obtained evidence that they say links Rodrigues to the April 1988 murder of Lorenzo Young and William "Willy" Lau in October 1990.

Young was found shot in the head in the front seat of a burning car. Lau, a witness to the Tuaoa murder, allegedly was killed because he was talking.

Lau was found crushed to death under a car he was working on. Rodrigues faces a life term without the possibility of parole if convicted of Lau's murder because Lau was a prosecution witness.

Prosecutors consider Rodrigues one of the most dangerous people in the state and say he must be incarcerated before he kills again.