Former Honolulu Police Department Officer Sentenced for Violating the Civil Rights of Two Men

District Judge J. Michael Seabright today sentenced former Honolulu Police Officer Vincent Morre, 38, to 30 months in prison for violating the civil rights of two Honolulu men.  On May 19, 2015, Morre pleaded guilty to two counts of depriving the two men’s right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer on Sept. 5, 2014.

According to information presented to the court, Morre, then a 10 year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department, was searching for a fugitive when he entered a game room on Hopaka Street.  Once in the game room, Morre, in an unprovoked attack, kicked J.T. in the head.  Morre then continued to search the game room for the fugitive.  On his way out, Morre reapproached J.T. but first struck F.F. (who was seated next to J.T) in the face twice and then kicked his chest.  Morre then continued the assault on J.T. by kicking J.T. off his chair.  As Morre was leaving the game room, he threw a metal stool which hit J.T. in the head, requiring three stitches.  Five days later, Morre filed a false police report omitting that he had assaulted J.T. or F.F.

“When this defendant violated the trust of the people he was sworn to serve, the Department of Justice stood ready to enforce the law and protect the civil rights of all Americans,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division.

“This case represents important steps in vindicating the civil rights of the victims of unreasonable use of force by a law enforcement officer,” said U.S. Attorney Florence T. Nakakuni of the District of Hawaii.

“The FBI would like to thank the Honolulu Police Department for its cooperation, assistance, and transparency during this investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge Paul Delacourt of the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren W.K. Ching of the District of Hawaii and Trial Attorney Angie Cha of the Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case. 

Honolulu Man Arrested on Improvised Explosive Device Charges

Vida G. Bottom, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Honolulu Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced today the arrest of Honolulu resident Patrick C. Lopes, age 45, on a charges of possession of an unregistered firearm and carrying an explosive during commission of a felony. The unregistered firearm and explosive described in the criminal complaint was an improvised explosive device (IED) discovered outside a home in Honolulu’s Kaimuki neighborhood earlier this year.

According to the criminal complaint, on March 11, 2012, a resident of the Kaimuki home discovered an unexploded IED in close proximity to the house’s gas line and notified the landlord of the discovery. Honolulu Police responded, established a safe perimeter, and called in a police bomb squad who later rendered the device safe.

Subsequent further investigation by the Honolulu FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) culminated in criminal charges being filed against Lopes, who was arrested in his Chinatown home this morning without incident. The criminal complaint alleges that Lopes was motivated by a personal grudge against a resident of the Kaimuki house, and there is no allegation that Lopes was part of any organized terror network. Lopes will appear later today in Honolulu U.S. District Court.

The JTTF is a multi-agency task force consisting of investigators and analysts from agencies including the FBI, Honolulu Police, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Secret Service, Hawaii Sheriff Division, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Federal Air Marshals, and Coast Guard Investigative Service.

The statutory maximum sentence for a violation of Title 26, U.S.C. Section 5861(d) (possession of unregistered firearm) is 10 years’ imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. A violation of Title 18, U.S.C. 844(h)(2) (carrying an explosive device during the commission of a felony) carries a mandatory 10-year term of imprisonment consecutive with any other term of imprisonment. The public is reminded that a criminal complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Bomb Scare False Alarm Reveals Black Money Scam

Frank Montoya, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Honolulu Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is warning the public about a scam targeting Hawaii residents commonly known as the Black Money Scam. Two individuals claiming to be from the African nation of Liberia are wanted for questioning in relation to this fraud scheme.

On Friday 11/4/2011, the FBI received a tip that two suspicious males had rented a Honolulu storage locker for cash for the purpose of storing two large suitcases. The FBI contacted the Honolulu Police and Fire Departments who performed a safety inspection of the unit and determined that there were no explosives or dangerous materials inside.

On the evening of Saturday 11/5/2011, the FBI obtained a search warrant to open the bags. Inside the bags, the FBI discovered hundreds of pounds of black paper cut into the size of U.S. currency bills.

By way of background, the Black Money Scam is a well-known fraud wherein black construction paper is presented to a victim as being actual U.S. currency dyed black through a chemical process. The con-man represents that he needs money to obtain another chemical that will wash off the black dye and render the U.S. currency back to its normal state. The victim is asked for money to buy the chemical in exchange for half of the black paper. After the money is given to the con-man, the victim is given the black paper, and the con-man disappears with the victim’s money. The paper held by the victim is simply black construction paper with no currency value. The Black Money Scam is described in detail on a Wikipedia entry and on several You Tube videos.

The Honolulu FBI wishes to warn the public about this scam and is asking for recent victims to step forward. Furthermore, the two individuals depicted in the attached photo are wanted for questioning by the FBI.

The public is reminded that the individuals depicted in the attached photo are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

FBI Arrests Alleged Rape Fugitive in Honolulu

At 7:30 this evening (10/5/11), the Honolulu FBI arrested fugitive Tone Pulou, male, age 26, at the McDonalds Restaurant located at 4725 Bougainville Drive in Honolulu.  The fugitive investigation had been worked jointly by the FBI and Honolulu police over the past five days. The arrest was without incident.

Mr. Pulou was wanted by the government of American Samoa for rape, first-degree sexual abuse, and endangering the welfare of a child. Please note that these are American Samoa local charges, not federal charges.

The warrant for Mr. Pulou’s arrest was issued in August 2010. According to the affidavit filed in support of the warrant, Mr. Pulou was an elementary school teacher in American Samoa who allegedly had sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old female student that resulted in the student’s pregnancy. This sexual relationship between teacher and student allegedly continued from September 2009 through February 2010.

Mr. Pulou first travelled to Australia after fleeing American Samoa in August 2010. He arrived on Oahu from Australia on Friday 9/30/2011, and had been staying with friends in Waianae for the past few days.

Because this is a local warrant issued in American Samoa, Mr. Pulou is being transported to Honolulu Police custody overnight. The Attorney General of American Samoa has indicated that they will extradite Mr. Pulou back to American Samoa to face the charges. Accordingly, Mr. Pulou will appear before a local judge in Honolulu tomorrow and will likely be held pending his extradition.

 The public is reminded that this defendant is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in a court of law.

$10,000 Reward Offered in Search for the “Backpack Bandit”

Daphne Hearn, Interim Special Agent in Charge of the Honolulu office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Richard Robinson, Commander of the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) Criminal Investigations Division, announced today that a reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information leading to the identification and arrest of a serial bank robber dubbed the “Backpack Bandit,” who is believed to be responsible for at least four separate bank robberies on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. This reward is separate from the CrimeStoppers reward of up to $1,000 announced earlier.

The robberies took place throughout 2010 and are detailed as follows:

3/31/2010: Hawaii Federal Credit Union, 1244 Kaumualii, Honolulu, HI

5/26/2010: American Savings Bank,

1851 N. King St., Honolulu, HI

9/1/2010: Bank of Hawaii,

94-661 Kupuohi St., Waipahu, HI

11/26/2010: Bank of Hawaii,

94-661 Kupuohi St., Waipahu, HI

In all of the robberies, the Backpack Bandit approached the bank teller and placed a dark-colored backpack on the counter. He then brandished a black semi-automatic handgun from the backpack, pointed the gun at the teller, and verbally demanded money. Accordingly, this serial bank robber is considered to be armed and dangerous.

The Backpack Bandit is described as an Asian/Pacific-Islander male in his 30s, 5’5” tall, and weighing 190 pounds. In three of the robberies, the Backpack Bandit wore sunglasses resting on top of a dark-colored hat. During three of the robberies, he also wore what appeared to be a wig.

Tips regarding the Backpack Bandit should go directly to CrimeStoppers at 808-955-8300. Tipsters may also text “CS808” and their tip to CRIMES (274637).

Hawaii Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Charges

May 25, 2010 - WASHINGTON - The Justice Department announced that Rodney D. King, aka "Shadow," pleaded guilty today to federal sex trafficking charges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. King pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly causing a minor to engage in commercial sex; two counts of using force, fraud, or coercion to cause two other women to engage in commercial sex; one count of attempting to cause another woman to engage in commercial sex by force, fraud, or coercion; and one count of conspiring to commit sex trafficking of minors and adults by force, fraud, and coercion.

"For his own benefit, the defendant preyed upon vulnerable women and girls and forced them into prostitution by a variety of deplorable means," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Department of Justice will continue to devote its full efforts to prosecuting those who commit such exploitative crimes."

Under the terms of the plea agreement, the United States and the defendant agree that the defendant should be sentenced to 25 years in prison. If the court accepts the plea agreement, it will sentence King accordingly. Sentencing before U.S. District Judge David Ezra is scheduled for Sept. 27, 2010.

Assistant Attorney General Perez and U.S. Attorney Nakakuni commended the FBI and the Honolulu Police Department for their work in investigating this case and rescuing some of the defendant’s victims. FBI Special Agents M.K. Itnyre and Kristin Lee investigated this case, and Trial Attorneys Edward Caspar and Kayla Bakshi of the Civil Rights Division and its Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Ching prosecuted this case for the United States.