HILO, Hawai‘i - William Brown, a detective in the Vice Division of the Hawai?i County Police Department, was found guilty of Perjury, a class C felony offense, following a bench trial by Judge Peter K. Kubota on April 2, 2025.

Brown was found guilty of knowingly making a false statement while under oath, to a grand jury proceeding before the Circuit Court of the Third Circuit, while employed as a Hawai?i County Police detective. 

The false statement involved his interview with a suspect in a case where drugs were found in a vehicle. During the interview, the suspect stated multiple times that the only item she brought into the vehicle with her was her cell phone. The majority of the drugs found in the vehicle were in a black bag which also contained a pink stuffed animal pencil type case. Brown then testified falsely during the grand jury that the suspect claimed to have brought both her cell phone and the pink stuffed animal case into the vehicle with her. 

Deputy Attorney General Albert Cook, who handled the prosecution of the case stated, “Our legal system is designed to find the truth. When witnesses lie, it undermines our legal system and perverts the quest for justice. The Department of the Attorney General is committed to protecting the integrity of the criminal justice system and will prosecute those who commit perjury.”  

Sentencing is set for May 23, 2025, before the Honorable Peter K. Kubota. Brown faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.