25 year-old Bronson Derouin-Loando of Kona was sentenced to ten years in prison for three separate Kona domestic violence incidents involving two different women.
On July 17, 2022, Derouin-Loando pleaded “no contest” to Kidnapping and multiple charges of domestic violence which spanned three cases before the Circuit Court; on October 3, 2022, he pleaded “no contest” to a misdemeanor case before the District Court that involved related charges of witness tampering, violation of Circuit Court bail orders and violations of an Order for Protection.
The most serious offense, Kidnapping, is a class B felony offense which carries a maximum penalty of a ten-year prison term.
Derouin-Loando also pled to two charges of Felony Abuse of a Family or Household Member in relation to a May 2, 2022 incident; a single charge each of Criminal Property Damage in the Third Degree, Reckless Endangering in the Second Degree, and misdemeanor Abuse of a Family or Household Member in relation to a January 24, 2022 incident; and two counts of misdemeanor Abuse of a Family or Household Member, and a single count each of Attempted Felony Abuse of a Family or Household Member and Unlawful Imprisonment in the First Degree in relation to a November 19, 2021 incident. He also pled before the District Court to a single charge each of Witness Tampering, Contempt of Court, and Violation of an Order for Protection related to conduct that took place during the pendency of his Circuit Court cases.
The January 24, 2022 and November 19, 2021 investigations were handled by Officer Elijah Won, Kona Patrol, and the May 2, 2022 incident was handled by Officer Gyasi Williams, Kona Patrol, Hawai‘i Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Annaliese Wolf. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Wolf argued to the Court that Derouin-Loando’s conduct was potentially deadly.
“This is a situation where a domestic abuser blatantly disregarded court orders throughout the pendency of these proceedings and even contacted one of the complainants while pending trial to seek to influence her testimony for these very charges,” said Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen in a press release.
Photo credit: Hawaiʻi County Prosecuting Attorney