Robert Alan Akito Kinoshita, a Hilo man with a 41-year criminal history, has been sentenced to nearly 13 years in federal prison for marketing methamphetamine. Kinoshita was apprehended by Hawaii police with 212 pounds of methamphetamine which he was marketing. Kinoshita, who has more than 50 state convictions and over 25 aliases, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor.
Kinoshita committed his federal offense in August while he was on state probation for a felony habitual property crime. Kinoshita entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court to the drug charges on October 27. Since his arrest in August, Kinoshita has been held at Federal Detention Centre in Honolulu.
At his sentencing, Judge Gillmor reflected on the lengthy criminal history of Kinoshita which dates back to 1987. Kinoshita’s convictions span a range of offenses, including assault, car theft, domestic violence, habitual property crime, theft, and burglary. “Kinoshita has lived a life of crime for 41 years”, Gillmor stated in court.
During the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors praised the collaboration of state and local authorities in bringing Kinoshita to justice. The sentencing was hailed by other authorities as well, demonstrating the successes and advantages of inter-agency cooperation.
Kinoshita’s sentence for his federal crime will be served consecutively to his 10-year sentence for unrelated state offenses, which include promoting a dangerous drug and the unlawful imprisonment of a minor. These crimes date back to an incident on May 25, 2020, in Hilo where Kinoshita was found with methamphetamine and an unconscious minor.
The federal and state prosecution cases were a combined effort by members of the Hawaii Police Department’s Area I Vice Section, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigations, Hawaii County prosecutors, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Source: Hilo man who ‘lived a life of crime for 41 years’ sentenced for marketing meth
