Guilty plea made in killing

Friday, Sept. 13, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.

A Hawaii native with a single misdemeanor drug conviction in his past pleaded guilty Thursday to murdering a Harley-Davidson Cafe employee.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Ed Kane said 37-year-old Bradley Repolio will have to serve at least 40 years of a life sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

By pleading guilty, Repolio avoided the possibility of a no-parole life sentence.

Repolio told police that he killed Terry Lynn Howard, 50, on Aug. 6 while picking up his final check from the Harley-Davidson Cafe on the Strip. Repolio said he became angry when Howard told him other chefs were going to get bonus checks, but not him.

Howard was struck in the head with a hammer and then stabbed in the neck with a 3-inch paring knife.

According to police reports, Repolio confessed to the crime after police officers led him to believe there was video surveillance in Howard's office.