County Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen wouldn’t comment Thursday about whether a deputy prosecutor who has an ongoing court battle with a neighbor has been placed on leave or is the subject of an internal investigation.
The deputy, Randall Albright — who goes by the name Winston Albright in court — and his wife, Nicole, a massage therapist, are embroiled in a temporary restraining order dispute with Micah and Jessica Gauthier, their next-door neighbors in Paukaa, a former sugar plantation village just north of Hilo.
“As these are ongoing personnel matters, we are not able to provide comment or confirm whether any disciplinary action has or will be taken,” Waltjen said. He said he has conferred with several county and state agencies about the matter.
Waltjen said he also has spoken with Megan Kau, the Gauthiers’ Honolulu-based attorney, concerning her clients’ allegations against Albright.
“Our office takes allegations like these seriously,” Waltjen said. “Substantiated claims that a deputy prosecuting attorney has abused his authority or utilized his position for his own personal benefit will not be tolerated.”
Hilo District Judge Kanani Laubach on Aug. 3 granted the Gauthiers a TRO against the Albrights. She extended the TRO on Aug. 17 and ordered mediation in the case. According to the petition filed by the Gauthiers, over the course of 14 months, Albright threatened and harassed Gauthier, a disabled veteran, over issues such as the property line, a shed Albright allegedly said encroached onto his property, and Gauthier’s smoking outdoors, which, according to Gauthier, prompted fake coughing and hacking from the Albrights, and accusations that Gauthier is attempting to poison them with smoke. In response, the Albrights requested a TRO against the Gauthiers, which Hilo District Judge Jeffrey Hawk granted on Aug. 23. Laubach on Wednesday consolidated this case into the court-ordered mediation.
Albright claims in his petition the Gauthiers have poured concrete on Albright’s side of the property line, have yelled profanities at the Albrights, have allowed their dog to come onto their property numerous times, and that cigarette smoke wafts over from the Gauthiers’ property into the Albrights’ house and yard. He also alleged the Gauthiers have installed video cameras and recording equipment intended to intrude on the Albrights’ privacy. Both sides claim the other has caused them physical, mental and emotional anguish. The next court date in both cases is Sept. 28.
The Tribune-Herald reached out to Kau and to Francis Alcain, Albright’s attorney, but neither responded in time for this story.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.