A Hilo man who “lived a life of crime for 41 years” was sentenced to nearly 13 years in federal prison Thursday after Hawaii police caught him with 2-1/2 pounds of methamphetamine he was marketing.

Robert Alan Akito Kino­shita, who has 50 state convictions and more than 25 aliases, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor to 155 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release. The federal offense happened in August while Kinoshita was on state probation for felony habitual property crime.

Kinoshita pleaded guilty to the drug charges Oct. 27 in U.S. District Court. He has been living at the Federal Detention Center Honolulu since his arrest in August.

At his sentencing, Judge Gillmor noted his long state criminal history that started in 1987. Kinoshita’s state convictions include assault, car theft, domestic violence, habitual property crime, theft and burglary.

Kinoshita “has lived a life of crime for 41 years,” Gillmor said in court. “Protecting the community is an important value.”

“Please don’t let me die in here,” Kinoshita wrote in a letter to Gillmor.

“Robert Kinoshita was finally stopped in his tracks and held accountable for decades of drug dealing offenses and crimes that caused significant harm to others,” said U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors in a statement. “Justice is best achieved when we collaborate with our state and local partners, as we did in this case and will continue to do every day to protect our community.”

According to the Hawaii Police Department, Kino­shita was seen sitting in the driver’s seat of a car parked at Wailoa State Park on Aug. 2.

Hawaii police Area I vice officers found 2-1/2 pounds of methamphetamine and $6,600 in cash in Kinoshita’s car.

The case initially was charged in state court, and the federal prosecution was done by by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca A. Perl­mutter. The state cases were prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Ha‘aheo Kaho‘ohalahala and Elyssa Correia Keltner.

“Our Office will continue to promote and encourage coordination between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to prioritize the prosecution of drug dealers who distribute methamphetamine and hold them accountable for poisoning our community,” said Hawaii Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen in a statement. “These investigations and prosecution were the result of a combined effort by members of the Hawaii Police Department’s Area I Vice Section, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, Hawaii County Prosecutors, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

Gillmor ordered that Kino­shita’s sentence be served consecutively to his 10-year sentence for unrelated convictions in state court for promoting a dangerous drug in the second degree and unlawful imprisonment of a minor in the first degree from an incident on May 25, 2020, in Hilo.

Details about that incident that came out in federal court revealed that Kino­shita was found in Hilo with methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and an unconscious minor who had no pants and displayed physical indications of sexual assault.

At that time, Kinoshita was out on bail for two state felony cases.