A 29-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday for the Aug. 12, 2020, fatal shooting of a 31-year-old man who was working the door of an illegal Ala Moana gambling den.
Oahu Circuit Court Judge Fa‘auunga To‘oto‘o sentenced Aaron Arona Tuitelapaga, 29, aka “Rona”, for the murder of Sausau Togiai III, aka “Siah,” according to a news release from the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney.
Togiai was killed at what customers and police once referred to as the “Palama game room” on the second floor of a building at 1666 Kalauokalani Way near Don Quijote about 11:45 p.m. on Aug. 12, 2020.
Police said that night four men entered the game room and demanded money. Togiai confronted them and he was shot multiple times before the robbers ran away.
Tuitelapaga was also sentenced to 20 years in prison for firearms use and related charges in commission of a felony. Tuitelapaga was convicted by a jury on July 5. His sentences will run consecutively.
According to prosecutors, Tuitelapaga was armed with a handgun and opened fire during the robbery.
“This case is an example of how dangerous game rooms are and why they are such a blight on the community,” said Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm, in a statement. “We want to commend Judge To‘oto‘o for the tough sentence and we will continue to work with the Honolulu Police Department and other partners to close these illegal games rooms and prosecute those who commit crimes at them.”
Tuitelapaga and his alleged co-conspirators allegedly shot at a surveillance system and fled in a red Nissan Frontier pickup truck that had been reported stolen.
Togiai was taken in critical condition to The Queen’s Medical Center where he died. More than an hour after the shooting, Honolulu police found the truck in Waianae, unoccupied and ablaze.
In 2023, HPD officers made 200 gambling arrests, 108 for operating, promoting or assisting gambling and 92 for gambling equipment violations.
Law enforcement officials are prioritizing the game rooms to target and make cases against the property owners and operators.
Game rooms near schools, churches or anywhere kids learn or play are first. The evidence needed to make cases can take two to three weeks or up to four months.
HPD’s Narcotics Vice Division has about 10 officers assigned to target and take down illegal game rooms.
Awaiting trial
Tuitelapaga also is awaiting trial for manslaughter along with three other Oahu Community Correctional Center inmates charged in the July 2023 beating death of fellow inmate Christopher Ikaika Vaefaga Jr., 36.
The four were indicted by an Oahu grand jury Dec. 27 after they allegedly killed Vaefaga “by beating him ot death,” according to state court records. They face up to 2 years in prison if convicted.
Vaefaga was found unresponsive in module 13 on July 6. Staff administered first aid and CPR until a medical examiner arrived and pronounced his death at 9:26 p.m. that night.
Tuitelapaga is scheduled for his next court date in that case on Thursday.
If you have information on illegal game rooms, contact:
>> Phone: 808-723-3933 or CrimeStoppers at 808-955-8300
>> Online: Leave a tip at HonoluluCrimeStoppers.org
Tipsters may remain anonymous.
