Someone asked me about the Mike Miske case a couple of days ago.

Among their questions: “Where is Miske right now? Is he free until trial?”

The simple answer is, no, Miske and several co-defendants have been held at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu since July 2020, and are most likely to still be in detention when the trial begins next April, nearly three years after their arrests.

Miske and ten co-defendants were named in a 22-count federal indictment and arrested in mid-July 2020. Five of the original co-defendants have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors, while two additional defendants were added last year.

Here’s some information downloaded from the “Federal Inmate Locator” where you can look up federal inmates (current and former) by name:

Name: MICHAEL J MISKE
Register Number: 12248-122
Age: 48
Race: White
Sex: Male
Release Date: UNKNOWN
Located At: FDC Honolulu

Name: JOHN STANCIL
Register Number: 12250-122
Age: 35
Race: White
Sex: Male
Release Date: UNKNOWN
Located At: FDC Honolulu

Name: DAE HAN MOON
Register Number: 11357-122
Age: 26
Race: Asian
Sex: Male
Release Date: UNKNOWN
Located At: FDC Honolulu

Name: JARRIN KALANI YOUNG
Register Number: 11096-122
Age: 28
Race: Asian
Sex: Male
Release Date: UNKNOWN
Located At: FDC Honolulu

LANCE BERMUDEZ
Missing from the Federal Inmate Locator.
“No results found.”

[NORMAN AKAU AND HARRY KAUHI HAVE PLEADED GUILTY AND REMAIN IN DETENTION AWAITING SENTENCING]

Name: HARRY KAUHI
Register Number: 66415-112
Age: 42
Race: Asian
Sex: Male
Release Date: UNKNOWN
Located At: FDC Honolulu

Name: NORMAN J AKAU
Register Number: 12254-122
Age: 49
Race: Asian
Sex: Male
Release Date: UNKNOWN
Located At: FDC Honolulu

Bermudez isn’t the only defendant linked to the Miske case who no longer appears in the Federal Inmate Locator. Wayne Miller, one of those closest to Miske, has pleaded guilty in December 2020 and is expected to be a key witness when the case gets to trial. Miller’s whereabouts are also unknown. Even his release date after serving time for his prior bank robbery conviction is now absent from the inmate locator.

At the time of the July 2020 indictment, Bermudez was being held at the Halawa Correctional Facility where he was serving concurrent five-year sentences after pleading guilty to threatening witnesses to a Christmas 2016 murder at Ala Moana Center, multiple firearms offenses, and auto theft. Following the federal indictment, he was released into the custody of U.S. Marshalls, and was being held in federal custody while this federal case plays out.

I wonder whether Bermudez has reached an agreement on a plea deal, and has been whisked into some kind of protective custody in another federal prison pending the trial. There’s nothing in the court record to indicate a readiness to plea, but these things can be finessed to assure the safety of the defendant/prospective witness.

The Miske-related defendants currently free awaiting trial or sentencing include Preston Kimoto, Michael Buntenbah (guilty plea), Hunter Wilson (guilty plea), Kaulana Freitas (guilty plea), Delia Fabro Miske, and Jason Yokoyama.