Three alleged gang leaders found not guilty in Hawaii jail beating death

Associated Press

6 hours ago

A Honolulu jury took just a few hours Tuesday to find three alleged prison gang leaders not guilty of manslaughter in the beating death of an inmate at the Oʻahu Community Correctional Center in 2023.
Aaron 'Rona' Tuitelapaga, his brother Bronson Tuitelelepaga, and Manu Sorensen were all acquitted after a two-week trial that provided a dramatic and detailed view of the power wielded by prison gangs in some portions of the Hawaiʻi correctional system.
The trial also offered a disturbing snapshot of events inside that suggested some correctional officers either cooperated with gangs at OCCC or deliberately ignored gang activity.
The case centered on the death of Chris Vaefaga, 36, who was fatally beaten on July 6, 2023. The prosecution alleged the defendants administered the beating, while defense lawyers blamed Vaefaga's cellmates for the killing.
Deputy Attorney General Adrian Dhakhwa, who prosecuted the case, told the jury two prison gangs effectively ran Module 13 at OCCC, the state's largest jail. Those gangs are called West Side and Murder Inc., but Judge Paul Wong prohibited lawyers in the case from using the name 'Murder Inc.' during the trial out of concern it might prejudice the jury.
Inmates testified the gangs dominated that jail module, and said gang leaders did not allow other prisoners to speak directly to corrections officers. The gangs controlled cell assignments, and even reviewed all outgoing mail before it was sent, the jury was told.
A former chief of security at OCCC told Civil Beat that jail staffers were aware of the influence wielded by the three alleged gang leaders, but were unable to convince top corrections officials to move the three to the more secure Hālawa Correctional Facility.
Vaefaga's cellmates testified he had been on a methamphetamine binge for several days in a cell he shared with three other inmates, and was not eating, sleeping or showering. One of Vaefaga's cellmates finally approached Tuitelelepaga about the situation, according to testimony.
The cellmate asked for a 'movement,' meaning he either wanted to be moved or wanted Vaefaga moved. Within the hour Vaefaga was attacked as he lay on a mat on the floor, the jury was told.
Inmates testified that Vaefaga screamed as he was beaten, stomped and 'body slammed' by his attackers, but said two corrections officers did not intervene.
An inmate tattoo artist was then summoned to cover the West Side gang patch on Vaefaga's neck, the jury was told, a sign he had been rejected by the gang.
A key witness in the case was one of Vaefaga's cellmates, who said he had been sleeping under a bunk in the cell when the beating began. He initially told investigators he did not know what happened, but finally testified at trial that he hid under the bunk during the beating. He identified Tuitelelepaga, Tuitelapaga and Sorensen as participants in the attack.
One of Vaefaga's cellmates was then ordered to move out, and was replaced by Murder Inc. gang member Josiah 'Bird' Palimoomanu, the jury was told. One inmate testified Palimoomanu was instructed to prevent Vaefaga from 'checking out,' meaning he was not to seek medical help or ask for protective custody.
Vaefaga was still defiant, and described the inmates who had beaten him as 'rats,' the jury was told. A cellmate testified Palimoomanu then struck Vaefaga about four times, including a 'vicious blow' with his elbow that knocked Vaefaga unconscious.
Vaefaga died later that day of bleeding in his brain from blunt force trauma, but his body was not discovered by the jail staff until about 8 p.m. that night.
Palimoomanu pleaded no contest to a first-degree assault charge in the case, and is awaiting sentencing. He did not testify during the trial.
Tuitelelepaga took the stand Thursday to testify in his own defense, declaring that 'I had nothing to do with this.' He said he did not enter Vaefaga's cell until after he was beaten, and asked Vaefaga if he needed medical attention. Tuitelelepaga said Vaefaga declined.
He testified that 'this had nothing to do with gangs. It's not my problem.' Although he had the top job of module clerk on the work line in Module 19, Tuitelelepaga also denied being a 'shot caller' or leader of the Murder Inc. organization.
Randall Hironaka, defense lawyer for Tuitelelepaga, hammered on inconsistances between the versions of events offered by the inmate witnesses.
'It's not about gang violence, it's not about accomplice liability, and it's not about gang responsibility,' Hironaka said of the case. He said it was Vaefaga's cellmates who had a problem with Vaefaga's behavior, and 'nobody else cared.'
As more than a half-dozen inmates or former inmates testified, their fear of the gangs became a major problem for the prosecution. Some repeatedly refused to answer questions or tried to invoke their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination during the trial, efforts Wong rejected because the witnesses had been granted immunity from prosecution in Vaefaga's death.
Some witnesses contradicted statements they had made to state investigators after Vaefaga was killed, while others said they did not remember details of the case or statements they had made earlier.
One witness testified his son was beaten in Waiʻanae after the witness made a statement to authorities, and at least two others were moved to protective custody at the jail.
Despite the acquittals on Tuesday, only Bronson Tuitelelepaga is likely to be released in the near future.
Aaron Tuitelapaga was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole last year for second-degree murder, and received a second life term for the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, with the terms to be served consecutively.
That sentence came in connection with the fatal shooting of Sausau Togiai III on Aug. 12, 2020, during a robbery of an illegal game room in Pālama.
Bronson Tuitelelepaga was acquitted in the same case, and Wong said Tuesday that he would be released from custody 'assuming there are no other holds.'
Sorensen was convicted of manslaughter, use of a firearm in a separate felony and a firearms offense in connection with a botched robbery of another illegal game room in the Ala Moana area in 2018. He and another man were trying to rob the operation when prosecutors said Sorensen fired a single shot, killing Jacob Feliciano, 31.
Consecutive 20-year sentences were imposed in that case, but the state Intermediate Court of Appeals in April vacated Sorensen's manslaughter and other convictions as well as his sentence. That case has been referred back to the trial court for further proceedings.
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This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.