Two men sentenced in Maui hate crime case from 2014

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Two Maui men found guilty of a hate crime for assaulting a man have been sentenced in federal court.

Kaulana Alo-Kaonohi and Levi Aki were found guilty of a hate crime last year for beating Christopher Kunzelman who is white. A judge sentenced Alo-Kaonohi to six and a half years. Aki was sentenced to four years and two months.

Kunzelman had just moved to Kahukoloa village when it happened in 2014. Video from his truck showed the two men approaching the house and there’s audio of them making threats, demanding him to leave.

Kunzelman was badly beaten and hit with a shovel multiple times.

In court on Thursday, Kunzelman told the judge that he is still suffering, both physically and emotionally from the beating.

His vision is permanently impaired and he still gets nightmares. He said he hates going to bed at night and seeing the faces of his attackers.

Before he was sentenced, Alo-Kaonohi told the judge he was sorry for putting his hands on Kunzelman and for the heartache he caused to his family. And that violence is not who he is.      

Family and friends of the two defendants filled the courtroom to show their support.

“We support him to death and we know he’s going to be strong. It’s kind of hard to see someone like this going to prison for something that he did not do. He’s not a racist guy. My brother is not racist,” said Kawena Alo-Kaonohi, Kaulana’s brother.

Aki told the judge, “My actions were uncalled for and I’m beyond ashamed of it.”

In the sentencing the judge told Alo-Kaonohi, “You were a racist on that day, this was racially motivated.”

The sentence also includes three years of supervised released.