Cabbab’s sentencing
postponed

A judge says she did not know
if she could reduce the sentence
for the former officer

A federal judge said she did not think she could legally grant a defense request to reduce the possible sentence of a Honolulu police officer, who admitted to stealing what he believed were 20 pounds of crystal methamphetamine.

U.S. Judge Susan Mollway postponed sentencing of Harold Cabbab Jr. yesterday to Oct. 20, while attorneys file legal briefs by Oct. 7.

"You folks (defense and prosecution lawyers) seem to be in agreement," Mollway said. "I just want to follow the law."

Cabbab pleaded guilty May 5 to possession of methamphetamine with the intent to sell, after stealing what he thought was "ice" from a Makiki storage locker in December.

In exchange, the government agreed not to object to Cabbab benefiting from a "safety valve" during sentencing, in which the court could reduce his sentence by about two years.

Under the "safety valve" provision for a reduction, the defendant must meet five criteria, one of which is not possessing a firearm.

Mollway said Cabbab's attorney must provide evidence his client did not possess a firearm for her to consider a term reduction. For the government merely to not contest the reduction was not enough for her to grant it, she said.

The judge said the situation is unusual because a lot of information is contained in sealed documents, and the government is remaining silent on the issue.

After the judge's decision, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Kawahara declined to comment because some of the documents have been sealed and the matter is pending.

Cabbab conspired with an acquaintance for nearly a month beginning Oct. 13 to steal a shipment of drugs, hoping to make $100,000 each. The acquaintance was actually working as a confidential informant for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The two, wearing HPD shirts, broke into a storage locker near the Makiki post office late Dec. 9 into the early morning hours of Dec. 10, taking what Cabbab believed to be 20 pounds of crystal meth.

Kawahara had said there was no evidence Cabbab was using drugs. Cabbab faces 10 years to life in federal prison, $4 million in fines and up to five years of supervised release.

During the hearing, Mollway acknowledged a "full house" of relatives and supporters yesterday, and said the delay could benefit him.

Cabbab is a former star University of Hawaii baseball outfielder and a 10-year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department.

The packed courtroom included his wife, former University of Hawaii volleyball player Jenny Wilton, her father, UH men's volleyball coach Mike Wilton, and fellow police officers.