The thief who stole a 95-year-old man’s wallet in a Chinatown market — a crime captured on video that sparked widespread outrage across the state and death threats from fellow inmates — was sentenced to 15 days in jail Wednesday.
Judge Russel Nagata sentenced Remik Ungeni, 49, to 15 days with credit for time served.
“This is your first property crime,” Nagata said. “Even though there was no physical force used against
a person, it was a crime committed against an elderly person who had no ability to prevent the take
of his property.”
Ungeni was convicted of fourth-degree theft in the Jan. 16 crime at Oahu Market. Fourth-degree theft is
a petty misdemeanor that carries penalties of up to
30 days in jail.
Ungeni was arrested
Jan. 18, so he has already served more than 15 days. He is still being held at the Oahu Community Correctional Center in a separate theft case in which he is
accused of grabbing an 80-year-old woman’s wallet or small purse from her hand at the same Chinatown market in August.
His bail in that case was set at $11,000. He’s being held in lieu of bail.
Ungeni is charged in the August case with second-
degree theft, a class C felony that is punishable by up to five years in prison. The punishment is more severe if a wallet is stolen out of a victim’s hand.
Cynthia Yoshida, property manager of the Mayor Wright Homes complex, testified at Ungeni’s trial Wednesday that she instantly recognized him as the man in the surveillance footage because he has been a resident at the complex since 2007.
She noted she has seen him walking around the property and coming in the office concerning annual recertification.
When a Mayor Wright maintenance worker showed her the footage, she said, “That’s our tenant.”
Deputy Prosecutor Mica Metter showed the video in court of the theft that took place at the 88 Fresh Fish Market in Oahu Market.
Lupo Fernandez testified Monday that he had placed his wallet on the counter as he was preparing to purchase fish when a man grabbed it and ran away. Fernandez said he did not see who took his wallet because the thief ran away too quickly.
Fernandez’s wallet contained his bus pass, Hawaii state identification card and $40 in cash. Fernandez said a vendor at the market gave him money to cover his bus fare home after the theft.
Metter said Wednesday: “The video is clear that Mr. Fernandez was targeted. In this case, you see in the video the defendant going back and forth, sort of just looking at Mr. Fernandez. This is a vulnerable, elderly gentleman who this should have never happened to.”
Ungeni chose not to testify at his trial. “I have nothing to say,” he said through a Chuukese interpreter.
Deputy Public Defender Jason Onishi argued that Fernandez did not make any identification of the person that stole his wallet and that the individual in the video wore a hat that covered a majority of his face.
He also said the state is solely relying on Yoshida’s identification of the culprit in the video.
“Are we to infer that she has a very solid recollection of what Mr. Ungeni looks like and that that was the person that was shown?” he said.
Metter said Yoshida is familiar with him. She added Fernandez could not see who took his wallet because the person came up from behind, snatched the wallet and ran off.
Nagata found Yoshida’s testimony to be credible based on her interactions with him as the property manager and seeing him around the complex over the years.
During sentencing, Onishi asked the judge to consider that this is Ungeni’s first property crime and that he has received death threats from other inmates at the correctional facility because of the high-profile theft case.
Ungeni was previously convicted of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant and consuming liquor in a public place. Both offenses are petty misdemeanors.