Teacher indicted for Federal prosecutors say a schoolteacher accused of smuggling a machine gun into Hawaii should be held without bail because he poses a danger to the community, "especially to the administration officials, teachers and students at Nanakuli Elementary School."
firearm smuggling
He allegedly imported
a machine gunBy Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.comJohn Kadota, 43, of Kapolei, was charged in a five-count indictment earlier this week with firearms offenses, including importing a machine gun with an obliterated serial number, importing a firearm without a permit and two counts of smuggling.
Yesterday, U.S. Magistrate Barry Kurren suspended all proceedings against Kadota and ordered that he undergo a mental examination and be evaluated for competency.
Kadota is a computer resource teacher and has taught at Nanakuli since 1998.
According to documents filed yesterday in the case, Kadota already owned 17 firearms, including a semiautomatic Steyr Model A1 rifle, when he allegedly went on eBay on June 27 using a school computer and sent a message saying he would pay up to $1,000 for a machine gun receiver.
Possession of a machine gun or its components is a federal offense.
In court documents, assistant U.S. Attorney Marshall Silverberg noted that Kadota has had an anger management problem that has manifested itself over the last two years and is a compelling reason why he should be held without bail.
"It has gotten so bad that teachers at Nanakuli Elementary School have compared Mr. Kadota to the Xerox guy (Byran Uyesugi) who killed seven of his co-workers in the worst mass murder in Hawaii's history," Silverberg wrote.
The teachers expressed their concerns not knowing he possessed 17 firearms and a machine gun.
He noted that a pretrial services report cited Kadota as having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder/manic depression and since 2000 has been undergoing psychiatric treatment and taking an antidepressant three times a day. Kadota has acknowledged becoming severely depressed in 1999 after breaking up with a girlfriend.
Despite his anger management problems, Kadota has refused to comply with the school's recommendation that he enroll in anger management classes, Silverberg said. "He appears to be like a simmering volcano waiting to erupt. Releasing him into the community under these circumstances would be taking a huge risk," he wrote.
Kadota is currently on department-directed administrative leave from Nanakuli, Greg Knudsen, Department of Education spokesman, said yesterday.
Nanakuli Elementary Principal Sandy Ahu said they were saddened to hear the news about Kadota, but the safety of students and staff is their foremost concern. She was apprised of the situation earlier this week.
A letter to parents informing them of Kadota, reiterating the safety of the school community as their utmost concern and offering counseling to students who may need it was to be distributed today, she said.
Ahu said she was not aware of what Kadota did in his private life or that he owned firearms. She said she could not discuss Kadota's anger management problems and how they are handling them because it concerns personnel issues. But "we have been working on it," she said.
Knudsen said the nature of the charges Kadota faces indicates that his interest in firearms did not spill over into his work at school or that firearms were found on campus. "It doesn't appear there was anything that created a dangerous situation for children."
According to an affidavit filed by Special Agent Jordan Lowe with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Customs Service intercepted two parcels from Germany this month that were addressed to Kadota.
The contents had been wrapped in tin foil, but customs officials discovered what they were when the parcels were put through a metal detector, Silverberg said.
One parcel contained a Steyr AUG Model A2 carbine receiver with an obliterated serial number, and the other a Steyr AUG Model A2 machine gun trigger, stock and partial bolt assembly.
Both parcels were delivered to Kadota on Saturday by a U.S. postal worker. Kadota signed for the parcels and allegedly told the mailman that he had been waiting for them for a month. Federal agents knocked on his door about 20 minutes later, and Kadota answered the door while holding the machine gun receiver.
With the receiver and other machine gun components, Kadota could convert the semiautomatic Steyr A2 rifle into a fully automatic machine gun, Silverberg said.
When asked why Kadota would want an automatic machine gun, Silverberg said it was a concern, particularly because the serial number had been obliterated.
If Kadota merely wanted to add it to his gun collection, he would have no reason to conceal it. The only reason why Kadota would want to obliterate the serial number is because he did not want the machine gun traced to him, Silverberg said in court documents.
Some parents of Nanakuli students said they are concerned that Kadota owned so many guns.
"That scares me," said Momi Kaeo, who has two children attending Nanakuli Elementary.
She said her son was fond of Kadota and that Kadota was a nice teacher. But her child's safety is her priority, and she would consider home-schooling her children if she did not feel they were safe in school.
Kadota joined the public school system in 1992 at Kamaile Elementary and then went to Ewa Elementary in 1996.
Possession of a machine gun is punishable by 10 years' imprisonment. The smuggling charges and importing a firearm without a permit and with an obliterated serial number are punishable by five years' imprisonment.