Hilo man sentenced to federal prison for methamphetamine trafficking

A Hilo man was sentenced Thursday by Senior United States District Judge Helen Gillmor to 155 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Robert Kinoshita, 59, pleaded guilty on Oct. 27, 2023, and has been detained since his arrest in August 2023. The court ordered Kinoshita’s prison sentence to run consecutive to a State of Hawai‘i sentence for prior state convictions in 2021 involving unlawful imprisonment of a minor and promoting a dangerous drug.

According to information produced by the court, the federal offense occurred in August 2023, while Kinoshita was on state probation. He was caught by the Hawai‘i Police Department dealing methamphetamine to a confidential informant from his car in Hilo.

A search warrant of his vehicle recovered over 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine as well as more than $6,600 in cash and other drug distribution paraphernalia.

Information regarding the State proceedings produced to the court during the federal proceedings recounted Kinoshita’s May 2020 arrest in his vehicle in Hilo, after he was found with methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and an unconscious minor who had no pants and displayed physical indications of sexual assault.

At that time, Kinoshita was out on bail for two state felony cases.

In sentencing Kinoshita, Judge Gillmor noted Kinoshita’s State of Hawai‘i felony and misdemeanor convictions, which include assault, criminal contempt, abuse of a family member, terroristic threatening, theft, driving under the influence and vehicular offenses, receiving proceeds of a felony, and drug crimes.

The Court then stated that Kinoshita “has lived a life of crime for forty-one years” and that “protecting the community is an important value.”

“Today, Robert Kinoshita was finally stopped in his tracks and held accountable for decades of drug dealing offenses and crimes that caused significant harm to others,” said United States Attorney Clare E. Connors. “Justice is best achieved when we collaborate with our state and local partners, as we did in this case and will continue to do every day to protect our community.”

Homeland Security Investigations and the Hawai‘i Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Perlmutter handled the prosecution.