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Crime against tourist
brings a year behind bars

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

Saying the court needs to send a message that crimes against tourists should not be tolerated, a state judge today sentenced a 40-year-old man who robbed a Japanese visitor of her purse at Ala Moana to five years' probation.

As a condition of probation, however, Mark Temerowski must serve one year behind bars. He must also pay $500 to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund and $500 to the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, which assisted the victim after the incident.

The state had asked that Temerowski serve the maximum 10 years' imprisonment for grabbing the purse of a 72-year-old visitor and knocking her down at a bus stop in February.

Violent crimes that target tourists have an impact on the tourist industry and should be dealt with seriously, said Deputy Prosecutor Wayne Tashima.

The woman suffered bruises and abrasions during the scuffle.

Temerowski's court-appointed attorney, Neal Kugiya, had asked for probation. He said his client has no previous criminal history, accepted responsibility for his actions and spared the victim of having to return to testify by pleading no contest to the robbery charge.

Temerowski today apologized to the state and the victim for his actions that day saying, "This was not me."

Last year, on Maui, he found and returned a bank deposit to its rightful owner. "That's the Mark in my right mind," he said.