Officer facing trial
is denied release

A scheduled release is canceled because
of concerns over the custodian's past

A federal judge ruled that a Honolulu police officer who is awaiting trial for allegedly selling crystal methamphetamine cannot be released to the custody of a fellow officer.

Robert Henry Sylva, 49, was scheduled to be released on June 6 and placed under the supervision of officer William Lurbe, a childhood friend and fellow recruit classmate, under an order by Magistrate Judge Leslie Kobayashi.

However, U.S. District Judge David Ezra said he had concerns about Lurbe's past, including his being on state probation for an incident on Sept. 12, 2003, when he "veered" toward a motorist who then lost control and crashed into a telephone pole.

"He's got enough to look after on his plate," Ezra said yesterday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Kawahara said Lurbe's actions that day were witnessed by another person driving behind them and that Lurbe "shoved" both men after identifying himself as a police officer.

Kawahara said in court yesterday that Lurbe showed a "total lapse of good judgment" and that his actions amounted to "almost taking the law into his own hands."

In a memorandum filed June 6 challenging Sylva's custody release, Kawahara also stated that the Honolulu Police Department disciplined Lurbe a week before the traffic incident for submitting false mileage records from 2002 to 2003 as well as "providing false information to obtain special-duty jobs that he was not eligible to work" in 2002.

"Officer Lurbe has substantial credibility problems, in that he has exhibited a pattern of providing false information," stated Kawahara in the complaint. "Such a lack of credibility is inconsistent with his role of a third-party custodian."

Sylva's attorney, Alvin Nishimura, had sought his client's release so he could get treatment for depression and a drinking problem that began four years ago after he lost both parents.

According to court documents, Nishimura said Sylva's depression led him to drink and seek solace in women, one of whom took $100,000 in his retirement money, causing him to lose his childhood home.

In response to the court's questions about Lurbe's past, Nishimura said that because Lurbe is on probation, he will be sure that his friend will make every court date and comply with every nuance of his release.

"There will be no violations," Nishimura said. "That's not what he wants, that's not what officer Lurbe wants, that's not what anyone wants."

Nishimura said Sylva is not a drug user, but that he dealt with his depression by providing drugs to attract women.

He added that Sylva is a devoted father who has not seen his 12-year-old daughter since his March 28 arrest.

According to court documents, Sylva was charged with distributing crystal meth, or "ice," on three separate occasions to a federal law enforcement informant. The alleged drug buys included one ounce of ice for $1,800 on March 11, an eighth of an ounce for $300 on March 18 and three ounces on March 25 for $5,400.

Federal prosecutors said that on the first sale, Sylva was on duty at the HPD main station when he confirmed a meeting place for the drug buy during a phone call, then drove to pick up the drugs and deliver them to the informant. In the March 21 drug sale, prosecutors said Sylva sold the ice while in uniform.

According to the June 6 memorandum, Sylva demonstrated that he had "an extensive history of methamphetamine trafficking" with such tape-recorded comments to the informant about the quality of the ice saying it was "really good" and that it "no look as rocky, but he said everybody loves it!"

During the same recorded conversations, prosecutors said, Sylva also talked about how much ice he provided for his girlfriend for free.

"I gave her $700 of dope yesterday," Sylva allegedly told the informant. "You think I got $1 back? No.

"The bottom line is, I give this girl (girlfriend) a lot, you know what I mean? (She) goes through a thousand dollars of dope a week."

Sylva is being held without bail. A trial date has not been set. Lurbe had no comment after the hearing yesterday.