4 Big Island Residents Sentenced to Federal Prison for Meth Trafficking

Senior United States District Judge Helen Gillmor sentenced Wednesday, June 15, Dwayne P. Gouveia, 58, of Waimea, Hawai‘i, to 10 years imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Gouveia was previously sentenced by the Court in 2005 to ten years imprisonment for attempted possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Judge Gillmor also sentenced Gouveia’s co-conspirators in methamphetamine trafficking:

• Maximillian Oleksiak, 46, of Kea‘au, sentenced on November 1, 2021, to 110 months imprisonment;
• Billie Jack Peridot Kawelo, 43, of Kea‘au, sentenced on November 18, 2021, to 60 months imprisonment;
• Malia Broome, 45, of Kamuela, sentenced on November 18, 2021, to 48 months imprisonment and a fine of $5,000.

“Methamphetamine remains our state’s dominant drug trafficking problem, as this prosecution of four Big Island residents demonstrates,” said U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors. “We will continue to work with all law enforcement agencies to prosecute those who deal large quantities of methamphetamine across our state.”

According to information presented to the court, the four defendants conspired to distribute methamphetamine on the Island of Hawai‘i during spring 2020. On May 20, 2020, special agents of Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, and officers of the Hawai‘i Police Department interrupted a distribution of approximately two pounds of methamphetamine by Kawelo and Broome to Oleksiak. The drugs had been supplied by Gouveia to Broome earlier that day.

In addition to the methamphetamine, agents and officers seized almost $20,000 in cash and arrested Kawelo and Broome on that date. The cash has since been forfeited to the government.

Evidence collected by the government demonstrated that the four defendants had been working together to distribute pound and multi-pound quantities of methamphetamine multiple times per week for approximately two months preceding the May 20, 2020 seizures and arrests. Additionally, in January 2018, agents and officers intercepted a shipment of approximately one pound of methamphetamine intended for Oleksiak in a transaction unrelated to the conspiracy.

“These sentences are the result of HSI’s relentless efforts to combat drug trafficking in Hawai‘i,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge John F. Tobon. “We are committed to investigating the individuals and organizations involved in distributing these substances to our communities.”