25-year-old sentenced to 20 years in prison for assault, robbery in Hilo

Cohlby Espaniola, 25 of Mountain View, was sentenced to a 20-year prison term in Hilo Circuit Court for a stabbing and robbery that occurred in 2018 at a residence on Leilani Street in Hilo.

Police were called to the home on the evening of Oct. 14, 2018 to find a 39-year-old male with multiple stab wounds to his face, chest and arms. He was transported to the Hilo Medical Center where he was treated for his wounds. Espaniola was arrested about four hours later.

At the time of the stabbing, Espaniola was 21. He was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree robbery, second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and prohibited acts related to drug paraphernalia.

The complaint in court documents said Espaniola used force against the victim to steal a motor vehicle.

On Dec. 19, 2022, Espaniola pleaded guilty to first degree robbery (a class A punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison) and first degree assault (a class B punishable to a maximum of 10 years in prison).

On March 10, 2023, Espaniola, who remained out of custody for a majority of these criminal proceedings after posting bail, appeared in Hilo Circuit Court for his sentencing hearing. After being sentenced to a concurrent 20-year prison term, Espaniola was taken into custody to begin serving his sentence.  

The investigation was initiated by South Hilo Patrol and the felony investigation was led  by Detective Kayne Keli‘i, Criminal Intelligence Unit, formerly of the Area I Criminal  Investigation Section, Hawai‘i Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Lee.