A former investigator for the city prosecutor's office has avoided jail time for theft and computer crimes committed while on the city payroll.

Craig Whang was allowed to enter a deferred guilty plea to two counts of second-degree theft and two counts of unauthorized computer access.

Circuit Judge Richard Pollack on Wednesday accepted the plea, which requires that Whang stay arrest- and conviction-free for five years.

Perkins also fined Whang $2,500 and ordered him to complete 200 hours of community service.

The state attorney general's office, which investigated and prosecuted the case, had asked Perkins to sentence Whang to a year in prison and fine of $20,000.

Authorities began an investigation in 2003 of Whang's use of city funds to purchase ammunition and law enforcement equipment, which he stored at his Mililani home.

Whang maintained that his superiors knew and approved of his activities but later initiated the criminal case as retaliation for complaints he made about workplace violence issues.

He filed a civil suit against the city in 2004. That suit is still pending but has been inactive for more than two years.

Whang was indicted in 2006 on the theft charges. The computer access charges were contained in a new indictment returned against him earlier this year.

Whang's lawyer, Myles Breiner, said the computer charges involved activities that other employees besides Whang engaged in, but he was singled out because of his continuing civil suit.

Whang used a software program loaded on his work computer to obtain information useful to his wife, a process server, according to Breiner.

Whang's actions were "no different from what other investigators in the office did and continue to do for other people," Breiner said when the new charges were filed in July.

Whang's wife later purchased the software program herself, Breiner said.

"Technically, what he did was violation of the law. He has chosen to plead guilty because he wants to move on with his life," the lawyer said.

Breiner said the deferred guilty plea was important to his client, who wants to pursue a career as a swimming coach.

A deferred guilty plea is not considered a criminal conviction and the charges will be dismissed if the defendant complies with the rules of court supervision over the next five years.