Former Kauai County Councilmember Arthur Brun entered a guilty plea in Honolulu’s US District Court yesterday, the end of an extraordinary 15 year odyssey from the depths of meth addiction when, in his own words, he “went down to ground zero,” but was then able to get clean, being elected to two terms on the county council, the second time while he was again falling victim to methamphetamine use and running his own drug trafficking organization, until his indictment and arrest on federal drug trafficking charges February 2020.

Appearing before Judge Derrick Watson by video from Honolulu’s Federal Detention Center, Brun was stoic as he pleaded guilty to each of the ten charges in the indictment.

“I had drug habit, and did drugs and sold drugs to support my habit,” Brun told Watson. “I accept responsibility for my actions, and I’m guilty of all charges, your honor.”

Brun faced four charges carrying minimum 10 year sentences if convicted, one with a 5-year minimum, three with sentences up to 20 years, and a final charge with a maximum sentence of five years, with each carrying additional periods of supervised release.

But the plea agreement with prosecutors recommended a sentence of 180 months (15 years), far below the possible term of 30 years to life imprisonment called for in federal sentencing guidelines.

Prosecutors concluded that “although he held a position of public trust, the investigation did not reveal evidence that the defendant used that position ‘in a manner that significantly facilitated the commission or concealment of the offense.'”

[A copy of Brun’s plea agreement is attached at the end of this post.]

The plea agreement offered several reasons for the the substantial downward departure from the applicable sentencing guideline range.

First, although Brun had been involved in drugs in the early 2000s, he had completed drug treatment and “had a long record of remaining substance free that lasted until in or about 2018. During this time, “the defendant made positive contributions to his community on Kauai (including working to secure funding for drug treatment programming and for the county wiretap facilities that were later used in the investigation against him), demonstrating that he was capable of living a law abiding life while substance free.”

Prosecutors said Brun began dealing drugs again in about 2019, “only after he had resumed his own personal use of controlled substances, which in turn had been brought on by physical injuries he suffered and the determioration of his marriage.”

“Significantly, the investigation in this matter–which included, among other things, extensive inquiry by a forensic auditor employed by ATF–did not reveal any evidence that the defendant obtained any significant profit from his drug trafficking activities, but rather supported the conclusion that his proceeds were spent in significant part on purchases of controlled substances for his own personal use.”

Although Brun’s criminal conduct was described as “extraordinarily serious,” these considerations, and Brun’s “full and thorough acceptance of responsibility for all of his criminal conduct,” led to agreement that a 180-month sentence was appropriate.

Details of Brun’s drug trafficking are spelled out in a “Memorandum of Plea Agreement” filed in court after the hearing.

Watson noted the 56-page plea agreement is “quite lengthy compared to most.” It devotes a section to Brun’s criminal links to each of the 11 others who were charged with being part of Brun’s trafficking organization, from “runners” who delivered drugs to retail buyers and collected money owed, to suppliers, some who could provide only an ounce or two, and others who had access to multi-pound packages.

It was kind of a hodgepodge crew. A member of the prison gang, United Samoan Organization, who Brun met in 2016 while driving prisoners to community service activities as part of a reentry program at Kauai Community Correctional Center, and later contacted after his release from custody. A woman who Brun used to hang out with and provide drugs to back between 2004 and 2006, who he approach again in 2019 looking to buy “stuff.” She had a friend who had moved to the mainland, and later sent four packages of “stuff” at Brun’s request. Another woman who had been one of Brun’s suppliers around 2002 or 2003, and reconnected with Brun in around 2018 and agreed to (and did) supply small amounts of meth to him when other sources went dry. A woman who flew into Princeville on chartered private planes carrying pound quantities of meth. A former addict who successfully completed drug treatment and was no longer a user, until Brun offered him meth and a pipe while the two were hanging out together, and became a trusted runner and co-conspirator. A man who received drugs from Brun and distributed them to others, and provided other assistance to Brun’s drug trafficking activities. A woman who had been drug free for seven or eight years before relapsing, and receiving meth from Brun for herself in exchange for working as a runner. A former drug associate of Brun’s from the early 2000s, who reconnected with Brun in 2019 after being released from federal prison. He offered to assist in collecting drug debts, also sought Brun’s help in obtaining an unregistered gun, and stepped in to protect Brun when he was threatened by another USO gang member at a part in October 2019. A man who received meth which Brun delivered to his residence. A woman who delivered meth to Brun’s customers and collected their payments.

Most have now also pleaded guilty in the case.

Details of the offenses admitted to by Brun are spelled out on pages 13 through 41 of the plea agreement, which is attached below.

Memorandum of Plea Agreemen… by Ian Lind