State v. Sylva

Defendant-appellant, John Robello Sylva, appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion for deferred acceptance of guilty (DAG) plea made pursuant to Chapter 853, Hawaii Revised Statutes (1976 Repl.) (HRS), after his plea of guilty to a charge of burglary in the second degree, on two grounds: (1) the trial court made an erroneous finding that § 853-4(7) disqualifies him from the benefits of Chapter 853, and (2) the trial court abused its discretion in failing to grant the motion.

At the time of his plea, appellant was 31 years old and without a felony conviction as an adult; although, as a…