Former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his deputy prosecutor wife, Katherine Kealoha, will have one trial on charges of lying on loan applications and another trial on the charges accusing them and four former and current police officers of staging the theft of their mailbox and lying about it.

U.S. District Chief Judge J. Michael Seabright agreed Thursday to split the charges against the Kealohas, officers Derek Wayne Hahn, Minh-Hung “Bobby” Nguyen, Daniel Sellers and retired Maj. Gordon Shiraishi.

“We’re happy that Judge Seabright considered our motions (Thursday) and followed the law and is interested in giving the Kea­lohas a fair trial. And so we’re happy that he agreed to separate the case into two trials,” said Cynthia Kagiwada, Katherine Kealoha’s court-appointed lawyer.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Beste had asked Seabright to keep all of the charges together for one trial. He said all of the charges are related in that they allege that “the Kealohas engaged in a pattern of fraudulent activity to enrich themselves.” He also said the Kealohas were able to carry out the crimes through their association with the Honolulu Police Department.

Seabright said he would prefer to hold the trial against just the Kealohas on the bank fraud charges first, in November, then the trial against all of the defendants next year.

Government trial attorney Michael Wheat told Seabright he would prefer to hold the trial against all of the defendants first.

Seabright ordered the government and defense lawyers to get together and recommend to him Thursday which trial they would like to have first.

In addition to the charges involving the mailbox and bank loans, Katherine Kealoha is accused of stealing money from her uncle, her grandmother and the trust accounts of two minors for whom she had been appointed guardian, and of using an assumed identity to authenticate fraudulent documents.