State v. Turno

── State v. Turno ── Court: Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Date: April 27, 2026 Category: General NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAII REPORTS OR THE PACIFIC REPORTER Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX 27-APR-2026 07:54 AM Dkt. 39 SO NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I STATE OF HAWAI#I, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. LAWRENCE TURNO, Defendant-Appellant. APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND CIRCUIT (CASE NO. 2CPC-XX-XXXXXXX) SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER (By: Hiraoka, Presiding Judge, and Wadsworth and Guidry, JJ.) In this interlocutory appeal, Defendant-Appellant Lawrence Turno (Turno) appeals from the following orders entered on April 11, 2024, by the Circuit Court of the Second Circuit (Second Circuit)1/: (1) the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Order Denying Motion to Suppress Evidence Stemming From Illegal Interrogation Filed on December 10, 2024 (Order re Interrogation); and (2) the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Order Denying Motion to Suppress Evidence Stemming from Violation of Constitutional Right to Privacy Filed on January 23, 2024 (Order re Privacy). In an April 19, 2023 Felony Information, Plaintiff- Appellee State of Hawai#i (State) charged Turno with one count of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, in violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 712-1209.1. The charge arose out of a Maui Police Department operation in which an undercover officer, 1/ The Honorable Kelsey T. Kawano presided.  NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAII REPORTS OR THE PACIFIC REPORTER Sergeant John Surina (Sgt. Surina), created an account and profile on the escort/prostitution website skipthegames.com. The profile featured photographs of a female adult with the fictitious name "Scarlett" (who was actually another police officer), offering various sexual services to consenting adults. In a text message exchange between Turno and Sgt. Surina, posing as "Scarlett," Turno agreed to pay $250 in exchange for sexual intercourse. The texting continued, with "Scarlett" telling Turno that she was 16 years old and asking him if he was "cool wit that[.]" Turno responded, "Yes [I]'m cool wit that," and agreed to meet "Scarlett" at the Safeway in Kihei. When Turno arrived, he was arrested. After he was charged, Turno filed two motions to suppress evidence obtained through the undercover operation – a December 10, 2023 Motion to Suppress Evidence Stemming From Illegal Interrogation (Motion to Suppress re Interrogation) and a January 23, 2024 Motion to Suppress Evidence Stemming from Violation of Constitutional Right to Privacy (Motion to Suppress re Privacy). An evidentiary hearing on the two motions was held on February 27 and March 19, 2024. The Circuit Court later entered the Order re Interrogation and the Order re Privacy, denying both motions, and granted Turno's motion for leave to file an interlocutory appeal. On appeal, Turno contends that the Circuit Court erred: (1) in denying his Motion to Suppress re Interrogation where "police engaged in sustained and coercive questioning after probable cause to arrest [Turno] had been established"; (2) in denying his Motion to Suppress re Privacy where "Turno's constitutionally protected right to privacy was violated by police"; and (3) in denying his Motion to Suppress re Privacy where "the government violated Hawaii's Wiretap Act," HRS § 803-42 (Wiretap Act),2/ "by engaging in electronic eavesdropping without a warrant." (Capitalization altered.) 2/