Officer given chance
to erase conviction

A Honolulu police captain who pleaded guilty to harassing his girlfriend has been granted a deferral of his guilty plea.

If he stays out of trouble for six months and complies with other conditions imposed by the court, Capt. Ray Ancheta, a 22-year Honolulu police veteran, can request that the conviction be removed from his record.

On Thursday, District Judge David Woo considered Ancheta's accomplished career with the Honolulu Police Department and the police union in granting a deferral, said defense attorney Gilbert Doles.

The court also noted that Ancheta had acknowledged the harm he caused, accepted responsibility for his conduct and voluntarily participated in counseling, Doles said.

Deputy Prosecutor Rich Stacey opposed a deferral.

Ancheta pleaded guilty in January to two counts of harassment, a petty misdemeanor, against girlfriend Veronica Trombley.

Ancheta, who at the time was assigned to the Kalihi District, was initially charged with abusing a household member in connection with a Jan. 14 argument at her Waikiki apartment. Prosecutors reduced the charges after reviewing the case.

Ancheta was ordered to pay a $500 fine and perform 100 hours of community service for each of the two counts. The court also lifted the order that he stay away from Trombley, Stacey said.

Ancheta, a Bronze Medal of Valor award winner in 1996 and past president and treasurer of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, made a full apology, Doles said.

Numerous individuals in the department, including those in executive positions, had submitted letters in support of Ancheta, he said.

Doles declined to speculate on Ancheta's future at HPD but said they were hoping for the best.

After his arrest, Ancheta was reassigned to a nonsupervisory position at the Alapai headquarters and stripped of his gun and badge. He will continue in that position for the time being, a police spokeswoman said.