Man sentenced to more than 3 years for possessing ammunition

A 27 year-old man was sentenced to three years and three months in federal prison after he was found guilty of possessing ammunition as a felon in connection with the search of a Waikiki apartment where police recovered ghost guns.

Senior United States District Judge Susan Oki Mollway today sentenced Tiseya Puapuaga, 27, of Honolulu and California, to 37 months that will run consecutive to a state prison sentence that will be based upon his parole revocation, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

On December 18, 2020, the Honolulu Police Department searched an apartment in Waikiki where Puapuaga was living. Officers found a disassembled pistol, known as a ghost gun, a disassembled AR-15-type rifle, a loaded handgun magazine, and four rounds of ammunition from the living room, kitchen, and inside the oven.

“Ghost guns are capable of subverting application of federal firearms laws because their separate parts may be assembled in the State of Hawaii, rather than being manufactured in another jurisdiction,” said U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors, in the news release.

Puapuaga was on parole in Hawaii when the incident in Waikiki happened. His parole status was for a 2019 felony conviction involving assault and a firearms offense connected to a murder that occurred in the Chinatown area of Honolulu. Puapuaga has not yet been sentenced by the State on his parole revocation for the 2019 State of Hawaii conviction.

An Oahu grand jury indicted Puapuaga with murder in October 2017 for his role in a the late-night shooting in front of the Maunakea Liquor & Grocery store on Sept. 20, 2017.

In 2017, Honolulu police said Puapuaga approached 34-year-old Issac Mamea on foot and shot him multiple times with a handgun.

The federal case against Puapuaga was part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime, according to the release.