Kristopher Galon plead guilty in U.S. District Court on Thursday to felonies committed while on duty in Lahaina in 2007 and 2008. He was charged with two counts of depriving a person of rights under color of law.
He plead guilty to stealing money from a driver at a traffic stop and to extorting a sex act from a woman who had been jailed after another officer arrested and robbed her.
The other officer, Steven Gunderson, plead guilty to charges of theft and evidence tampering.
Court record say that on Nov. 10, 2007, Galon stopped a driver for a traffic violation and grabbed the man's wallet and stole $1,550 from it.
The second offense, on the night of Aug. 17, 2008, was described in a lawsuit against the officers, the county and the police department by attorney David Sereno. He alleged that his client, Tracy Motelewski, and an unnamed man were at Puamana Park when Galon and Gunderson approached her car while her companion was in the restroom.
Both were in uniform and on patrol.
Galon allegedly searched the vehicle and a bag in the trunk, finding a container of white powder. He then, Sereno alleged, took Motelewski's purse containing $500 and a ring. They then took Motelewski to the lockup at the Lahaina Police Station, while her companion drove off in her car.
She was released about 5 a.m. the next day, but her purse was not returned, and she began to walk home.
According to the suit, Galon, still on patrol, offered her a ride in his patrol car but pulled up in a parking lot near Puukolii Road.
He then "crudely stated that he would destroy (a) pipe seized" if she would perform a sexual act on him. After she did, the civil suit says, he drove her to her neighborhood and dropped her off.
Later, the suit says, she got anonymous threatening calls.
The lawsuit alleges negligent supervision and training of the officers by the police department. (ya think?)
In February, the Maui County Council authorized settlement negotiations with Motelewski on behalf of the department. The county is not defending Gunderson or Galon.
In April, Gunderson, 33, pleaded guilty to charges that he stole cash from Motelewski and threw away a suspected drug pipe.
He at first pleaded no contest to the charges of second-degree theft and tampering with physical evidence and was asking for a chance to keep convictions off his record. But last month he pleaded guilty and told Cardoza he wouldn't seek a deferral that could have led to the charges being dismissed if he complied with requirements of probation.
In his appearance in U.S. Magistrate Court, Galon, 37, admitted both the theft and the sexual assault. He is to be sentenced in September.
He faces up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. How is it possible that sexual assault by a police officer nets only "up to a year" in prison?!
He was allowed to remain free on an unsecured signature bond. Why? Any other offender found guilty of sexual assault would have been locked up.
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