Maui burglar sentenced to 46 months of prison after pleading guilty to possession of stolen firearms

News Release from US DoJ, January 23, 2020

HONOLULU, Hawaii – Barret J. Paman, 32, of Maui County, was sentenced today in federal court by United States District Judge Jill A. Otake to 46 months of imprisonment, and three years of supervised release for possession of stolen firearms.

US Attorney for the District of Hawaii Kenji M. Price announced that, according to court documents and information presented in court, on March 7, 2019, Paman burglarized a residence on Waiehu Beach Road, Wailuku, Maui, stealing 19 firearms, a gun safe, and other items. The stolen firearms included a 12-gauge shotgun, three rifles, three pistols, and a rifle receiver. Paman provided these eight stolen firearms to other individuals for either methamphetamine or cash.

At sentencing, Judge Otake took into consideration the fact that Paman took the firearms from law-abiding citizens and sold or traded the stolen firearms to felons and drug dealers.

The case was investigated by the Maui Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren W.K. Ching.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of its renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the ATF when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from the following Project Guardian partners: the ATF and the MPD. For more information about Project Guardian, please click here.

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Maui News: Former MCCC escapee sentenced for stolen firearms possession

After being arrested for the burglary and theft last year, authorities said Paman and another inmate escaped from the Maui Community Correctional Center in the early-morning hours of April 14. After turning himself in later that day, Paman told police that jail guards were sleeping when he and the other inmate kicked in a dormitory door and ran outside. 

After being arrested on the federal charge, Paman was held at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu.