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NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed
Intermediate Court of Appeals
CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
04-JUN-2026
08:08 AM
Dkt. 49 SO

NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I

STATE OF HAWAI#I, Plaintiff-Appellee, v.
DADO LUCAS LUCERO, Defendant-Appellant

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE THIRD CIRCUIT
SOUTH KOHALA DIVISION
(CASE NO. 3DTC-24-000447)
SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Nakasone, Chief Judge, Leonard and Hiraoka, JJ.)

The District Court of the Third Circuit, South Kohala
Division, found Dado Lucas Lucero guilty of excessive speeding in
violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 291C-105(a)(2).1
Lucero appeals. We affirm.
HRS § 291C-105 (2020) provides:

(a) No person shall drive a motor vehicle at a speed
exceeding:

. . . .
(2) Eighty miles per hour or more irrespective of
the applicable state or county speed limit.

Lucero's single point of error challenges sufficiency
of the evidence. The State had to prove he "acted intentionally,
knowingly, or recklessly." State v. Gonzalez, 128 Hawai#i 314,
324, 288 P.3d 788, 798 (2012). Lucero argues the State failed to
prove that "driving at 92 mph in a 60 mph zone, under the
circumstances of being followed by an unmarked car late at night

1
The Honorable Jill M. Hasegawa presided.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

on a remote road constituted a gross deviation from the conduct
of a law-abiding person, as required to satisfy the state of mind
requirement for a violation" of HRS § 291C-105(a)(2).
When sufficiency of the evidence is challenged,
"evidence adduced in the trial court must be considered in the
strongest light for the prosecution[.]" State v. Calaycay, 145
Hawai#i 186, 196, 449 P.3d 1184, 1194 (2019). In a bench trial,
"the trial judge is free to make all reasonable and rational
inferences under the facts in evidence, including circumstantial
evidence." Id.
The "unmarked car" that followed Lucero was driven by
Hawai#i County Police Department officer Laurence Davis, who was
conducting enforcement for "speeders and DUI suspects on
Daniel K. Inouye Highway[.]" He saw a vehicle ahead of him
"accelerating away from the (Inaudible) traffic." It took him
"several miles to catch up to the defendant." He testified, "I
tracked him for a couple miles because I was looking for patterns
of maybe an intoxicated driver." "He was just going straight.
But he got up to 92. That's when I merged behind him and decided
to turn on my lights."
After Officer Davis stopped Lucero, he told him "the
reason I stopped you is you were going 92 in a 60 mile-an-hour
zone. Is there any reason for this?" Lucero "said something
like I thought you were chasing me."
Lucero testified he didn't know Officer Davis was a
police officer "until he put on his blue lights." Before that,
"He was very close. He was like on my bumper. And
that's what got me riled up and, you know, concerned." He
testified, "I cannot defend myself now I'm disabled." "I was
thinking, you know, I need to get away from him and pull over and
confront him. As soon as I sped up a little bit and tried to
pull over again, he put on his blue lights."
HRS § 702-206 (2014) provides this definition:

(3) "Recklessly."
(a) A person acts recklessly with respect to his
conduct when he consciously disregards a
substantial and unjustifiable risk that the
person's conduct is of the specified nature.

2
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

. . . .
(d) A risk is substantial and unjustifiable within
the meaning of this section if, considering the
nature and purpose of the person's conduct and
the circumstances known to him, the disregard of
the risk involves a gross deviation from the
standard of conduct that a law-abiding person
would observe in the same situation.

Considered in the strongest light for the prosecution,
Calaycay, 145 Hawai#i at 196, 449 P.3d at 1194, the evidence was
sufficient to show Lucero recklessly disregarded the risk that he
was driving his car at a speed exceeding eighty miles per hour,
and that disregard of that risk was a gross deviation from the
standard of conduct that a law-abiding person would observe under
the circumstances of the case.
The October 4, 2024 Judgment After Trial De Novo &
Notice of Entry of Judgment is affirmed.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, June 4, 2026.

On the briefs:
/s/ Karen T. Nakasone
Edward J. Fetzer, Chief Judge
for Defendant-Appellant
Dado Lucas Lucero. /s/ Katherine G. Leonard
Associate Judge
Kelden B.A. Waltjen,
Prosecuting Attorney, /s/ Keith K. Hiraoka
Charles E. Murray III, Associate Judge
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney,
for Plaintiff-Appellee
State of Hawai#i.