BY JIM DOOLEY – The first time Honolulu police officer Craig Clissold was accused of peeping into the home of a Hawaii Kai neighbor, he was allowed to enter a deferred plea of no contest that resulted in eventual erasure of the charge against him.
Not this time, prosecutors say.
Clissold, now retired from HPD, was charged with criminal trespass last year after neighbor Robert Tinsley complained that Clissold was peering into the windows of Tinsley’s home at night.
A court hearing will be held next week in which Clissold is expected to seek a second deferred no contest plea.
“We will be opposing a deferral and seeking a 30-day jail sentence,” said Special Deputy Prosecutor Anna Fernandez.
Tinsley complained to police after a neighbor told him she had repeatedly seen Clissold on Tinsley’s property at night and informed him of a 2001 Peeping Tom case against Clissold.
Police told Tinsley they would arrest Clissold if it happened again.
Last September, Tinsley said he saw Clissold standing in Tinsley’s yard, staring through a window as Tinsley watched television around 11 p.m. in the evening.
Tinsley ran outside, confronted Clissold, and called the police, he said.
But Clissold wasn’t arrested after he told officers he was “looking for his cat” in Tinsley’s driveway.
Tinsley, who has since moved to the Mainland, complained at length to police, prosecutors and the Mayor’s office and Clissold was eventually charged with second-degree criminal trespass, a petty misdemeanor.
Tinsley also secured a three-year injunction that barred Clissold from all contact with Tinsley, his wife and two young sons.
The injunction also barred Clissold from owning or possessing any firearms.
The criminal case is now set for trial in mid-June.
Clissold’s first criminal case was brought in 2001, when he was a police lieutenant.
After a neighbor complained to police that a Peeping Tom was looking into her bedroom window at night, police caught Clissold in her yard and charged him with invasion of privacy.
He was allowed to enter a deferred no contest plea in that case.
Clissold stayed on the police force and completed one year of probation. He retired in 2002 asfter serving on the force for 30 years.
nice job, Dooley and the H.R. staff! (“looking for his cat,” …. sheesh.)
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