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Convicted Kealohas Don't Want Jury For 2nd Trial

Caleb Jones/AP
FILE - In this June 25, 2019 photo, former Honolulu police chief Louis Kealoha, right, and his wife, former deputy prosecutor Katherine Kealoha, walk out of federal court in Honolulu.

The retired Honolulu police chief and his former prosecutor wife don't want to be tried by a jury on charges including bank fraud and identity theft in Hawaii's biggest corruption case.

Court documents show Louis and Katherine Kealoha are waiving their right to a jury trial and want a judge to decide the case.

Jurors convicted the Kealohas in June of conspiracy in a plot to frame a relative for stealing their home mailbox to hide fraud that financed the couple's lavish lifestyle.

The second trial against them is scheduled for January. A judge wants to hear from them at a hearing Wednesday to ensure their waiver of a jury is "knowing, intelligent and voluntary."

Earle Partington, one of Katherine Kealoha's attorneys, says they're negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors.

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