Man, 30, sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for armed robbery, attempted carjacking
A 30-year-old Waianae man has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for a 2020 armed robbery and attempted carjacking.
On Thursday Joshua Leiataua, 30, was sentenced in a Hawaii district court to 137 months in prison for the crimes and 120 months, to be served concurrently with the 137-month sentence, for the possession of ammunition as a felon.
On April 5, 2020, Leiataua entered a Waipahu mini-mart, brandished a gun at the cashier and demanded money. The cashier wasn’t able to open the register, so Leiataua stole several items, including cartons of cigarettes.
About a month later, on May 13, 2020, Leiataua and another person, Shanice Faalogo, attempted to steal a vehicle from two victims in Waianae, also at gunpoint. Leiataua approached one of the male victims, who was standing just outside the vehicle, brandished the gun at him and demanded the vehicle. Faalogo took the gun and fired it above the male victim. Leiataua pulled a female victim out of the vehicle by her hair.
Leiataua and Faalogo attempted to start the vehicle but were unable to because its battery was dead. They fled the scene.
Senior U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor said Leiataua’s actions and criminal history show a “lack of respect for the law.”
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Faalogo previously pleaded guilty to the attempted carjacking and is awaiting a sentence.
The case was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the District of Hawaii’s U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release. The project is the “centerpiece” of the Department of Justice’s effort to reduce violent crimes.
