Kauai Robber Sentenced To Over 15 Years Imprisonment

HONOLULU – Walter Mills, 45, was sentenced today to 188 months imprisonment for robbing both a bank and a pharmacy on Kauai. As part of his sentence, Mills must pay $630 in restitution, and serve 3 years of supervised release following his incarceration.

U.S. Attorney Kenji M. Price stated that, according to court documents and information presented in court, on November 3, 2016, Mills escaped from Kauai Community Correctional Center (KCCC) in Wailua, Hawaii. The following day, Mills engaged in a one-day crime spree beginning at First Hawaiian Bank in Lihue, Hawaii. Mills handed the bank teller a demand note: "This is a robbery I have a gun count all the money in the drawer no die pack or mark money." He received $480 in cash. He then used the cash at a local Kmart store to purchase a BB gun. Thereafter, Mills committed a series of carjackings – brandishing the BB gun and stealing vehicles, regardless if the driver was still inside. During one of the carjackings of an occupied vehicle, Mills demanded the owner to drive him to a pharmacy in Koloa, Hawaii. Once he entered the pharmacy, Mills held the BB gun in the air and demanded Oxycontin pills. He received the pills, fled, and continued on his carjacking spree. Mills was arrested in Hanapepe later that day.

At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor remarked, "I have to look at the safety of the community. The community is not safe when you are out and about."

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

The case was investigated by the Kauai Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the FBI, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara D. Ayabe.