A federal judge has reduced the prison sentence of former Honolulu police officer and University of Hawaii baseball player Harold Cabbab Jr. by nearly three years under new federal sentencing reform.
But because no inmate affected by the reform can be released before Nov. 1, Cabbab’s actual reduced prison stay could be less than four months.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission voted in April to reduce the sentencing guideline levels applicable for most federal drug trafficking offenders to address prison overcrowding.
In July the commission voted to let judges apply the change retroactively. Before any reduction is issued, a judge is required to review the case to determine whether a reduced sentence poses a risk to public safety. The commission also said no reduced sentence can take effect until November.
Court staff has compiled a list of 198 inmates in federal prisons who were convicted of drug offenses in U.S. District Court in Hawaii and could be affected by the sentencing change.
Federal court guidelines are advisory, and judges can impose sentences outside the guideline range. They must, however, consider the guideline ranges before handing down sentences.
The guidelines establish offense levels and sentencing ranges based on the nature and circumstances of the crime, the characteristics of the defendant and, for drug offenders, the type and quantity of drugs involved.
In December 2004 federal authorities arrested Cabbab in a sting operation. He was a 10-year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department.
Cabbab was wearing a T-shirt with the letters "HPD" on it when he broke into a Makiki storage locker intending to steal what he believed was 18 to 20 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and to resell the drugs. His cohort turned out to be an informant.
In May 2005, Cabbab pleaded guilty to attempting to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.
U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway sentenced him in October 2005 to 168 months or 14 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
On Thursday, Mollway reduced Cabbab’s sentence to 135 months.
Cabbab, 44, is in custody in USP Lompoc, a medium-security U.S. penitentiary in California.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons lists Cabbab’s release date as Feb. 19, 2016. That date is based on his 168-month sentence minus up to 15 percent for good behavior. If he wins a sentence reduction Nov. 1, his release date would arrive three months and 18 days earlier than the 2016 release date.
Cabbab played for the UH Rainbow baseball team from 1989 to 1992.
