A 3-decade-old deadly shooting case was wrapped up yesterday when a convicted robber was sentenced to prison on a manslaughter plea.

  Man Pleads Guilty To 31-Year-Old Case

 

  52-year-old Melvin Kumukau was sentenced up to 20 years for manslaughter and robbery of Toshio Kawano at his Moiliili Bakery in 1977. 

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  Melvin Kumukau and Aaron Meyer went to Moiliili Bakery on the night of Sept. 26, 1977, to rob store owner Toshio Kawano of his collection of swords, said Chris Young, deputy state attorney general.

“;The robbery went bad, which ended up in the shooting death of Mr. Kawano,”; he said.

Young said Kumukau and Meyer entered the store brandishing handguns and fired them at Kawano, who himself fired back with his own handgun.

Kumukau, 52, pleaded guilty in Circuit Court to manslaughter and first-degree robbery yesterday and accepted a 20-year prison term for his role in Kawano's death. He had been facing trial for second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life prison term with the possibility for parole.

Kumukau was 21 years old at the time. Meyer was 17.

For more than 20 years, the case remain unsolved. There were no known eyewitnesses.

Then, in 2000, Honolulu police said a witness stepped forward with information identifying two suspects.

In 2006 the state attorney general's Cold Case Unit took the case before a grand jury, which returned an indictment charging Kumukau and Meyer with murder.

The murder case against Meyer is still pending.

When his name surfaced as a suspect in the case, Kumukau was serving a life prison term for attempted second-degree murder and seven first-degree robbery convictions. He was released on parole in 2004.

Roy Kawano, one of Kawano's sons, was in court yesterday. He declined to address the court before Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall handed down the 20-year prison term. He said the family received closure when Kumukau and Meyer were indicted in his father's murder.

“;We were talking about the different scenarios that would happen,”; Kawano said later. “;And I guess this would have been the best outcome for everybody.”;

Toshio Kawano was 58 when he was killed in the botched robbery of his liquor and sundries store at 2737 S. King St. The store was no longer a bakery, but Kawano kept the name.

Kawano was a widely known samurai sword collector. Roy Kawano said his father kept most of his collection, about 50 swords, in a safe at the store.