Puna Man Will Serve at Least 8 Years of Sentence

A Puna man will spend at least eight years in prison following his conviction on several charges, including burglary and theft.

Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen announced Friday that 29-year-old Arnold “BJ” Fernandez of Puna will serve eight years in prison, out of a 10-year sentence, before being eligible for parole.

Fernandez, who has felony convictions for first-degree burglary, second-degree burglary, second-degree theft, first-degree terroristic threatening, unauthorized control of a vehicle and unauthorized possession of confidential or personal information, was sentenced earlier this year.

The Hawai’i Paroling Authority recently set Fernandez’s minimum term at eight years for his Class B felony conviction and four years for all Class C felony convictions. A Class B felony carries a maximum 10-year penalty, while a Class C felony carries a maximum five-year penalty.

“We hope that this serves as a message that Hawai’i Island law enforcement is taking property crimes seriously and that we will continue to aggressively prosecute property offenders,” said Waltjen, who handled the prosecution of these matters.

The investigation was handled by members of the Hawaii Police Department’s Area I Criminal Investigation Section and Special Enforcement Unit.