Arakawa faces Fifty-year-old Clyde Arakawa is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow and faces up to 20 years in prison for killing 19-year-old Dana Ambrose in a drunk-driving accident.
sentencing in
fatal accident
He could get up to 20 years
in prison for the drunk-driving
death of Dana AmbroseBy Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.comCircuit Judge Karen Ahn will have two options: probation with up to one year in prison or the maximum 20-year term for the former police officer who was convicted of manslaughter on Feb. 19.
The Hawaii Paroling Authority will determine the minimum length Arakawa will serve before he is eligible for parole.
A jury of nine women and three men found Arakawa guilty of running a red light, speeding and driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit when his Ford Thunderbird crashed into Ambrose's Honda Civic at the intersection of Pali Highway and School Street on Oct. 7, 2000.
Arakawa has been awaiting sentencing at the Oahu Community Correctional Center since the verdict.
Jurors had to sort through conflicting expert and eyewitness testimony as to whether Arakawa ran the red light, was speeding and was drunk.
Although jurors said the sight of Ambrose's crushed Honda Civic left an indelible image in their minds, news footage of Arakawa freely roaming the accident scene with fellow police officers after the crash was probably the most unforgettable and damning in the public's mind.
Allegations of preferential treatment were initially denied, but days later, Police Chief Lee Donohue admitted "courtesies" were extended to the off-duty police officer.
Arakawa had refused a sobriety test immediately after the accident, upon the advice of a union lawyer who was called to the scene. According to the state's expert, the results of a test seven hours later indicated his blood alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit of .08.
Prosecutors maintained Arakawa was drunk after a seven-hour drinking binge at two Honolulu bars.
In a KITV interview last week, Arakawa had said he did not think he received a fair trial because of the pretrial publicity, which he said prejudiced the jury.
"I hope the judge will consider probation and jail time, but I think she's going to give me an open 20," Arakawa told KITV.
He also said he wished he had been the one to die in the accident.
"Other than saying he hoped he'd die, he's still never said 'I'm responsible' or that he's sorry," said Rick Fried, the Ambroses' lawyer in a civil suit against Arakawa.