A day after a binder containing sensitive court documents for a prison gang trial was found at a downtown restaurant, the attorney who owns the binder said someone stole it from him at the federal courthouse.

Defense attorney Marcus Sierra visited the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Wednesday after the restaurant turned over the 2-inch binder. He said it contained his cross-examination notes of prosecution witnesses, grand jury transcripts and a handwritten witness list that he had asked his client, Tineimalo Adkins, to write up.

"Somebody took my binder without my knowledge," he said. "They, for some reason, were reading it in a place that I haven’t eaten for months."

Sierra said he didn’t have any idea why someone would take the binder, which he said contained information that had already come out in trial.

Adkins was found guilty Friday of leading a brutal assault by USO Family prison gang members on a fellow inmate at Halawa Correctional Facility.

The court previously issued a protective order that said attorneys can show copies of witness material to their clients, but cannot give their clients copies.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Otake filed a motion Tuesday about the binder, saying witnesses testified during the trial about their fear of retaliation by USO Family members.

The motion said prosecutors learned Tuesday that the binder was found by an employee at Alakea Delicatessen and contained what was believed to be Adkins’ handwriting and confidential grand jury transcripts.

"The fact that an attorney would even accidentally misplace such sensitive information regarding the witnesses in a public … location, needs to be addressed by the court," Otake said in her motion. "The government believes that it was simple good fortune that the material did not fall into the wrong hands."

Prosecutors want Sierra to explain why he should not be sanctioned for allowing the material to get out.

Defense attorney Victor Bakke, who represents another defendant in the prison gang case, said he was concerned the binder contains information about his client, Opherro Jones, who never testified and pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge.

He said some people on public witness lists had their names blacked out.

"There were a lot of other people who could have been potential witnesses who were never called," he said. "This was all confidential information given to this attorney. This is not good when you’re dealing with gang affiliations."

Sierra said: "I seriously doubt that this had anything to do with someone trying to hurt somebody."

He said the U.S. Attorney’s Office is probably trying to make an example out of him.

"I think the U.S. attorney kind of had a knee-jerk reaction," he said. "What I had hoped they would have done is at least investigate a little bit and talk to me."

The three-ring binder was one of at least six Sierra used for the case. They were left in the courtroom overnight during the trial with the judge’s approval.

Sierra said someone could have taken it then or while he was working with the material in the clerk’s office at the courthouse. His client, who is in custody, couldn’t have taken such a large binder, he said.

"Nevertheless, this is protected material," Sierra added. "I’m going to do whatever I can to help the FBI or the U.S. Attorney’s Office get to the bottom of this."