Prosecutors appeal ruling barring 3rd trial against agent
HONOLULU — Prosecutors are appealing a judge’s ruling that a federal agent can’t be tried a third time for fatally shooting a man in a Waikiki fast-food restaurant.
Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro appealed Wednesday to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
A U.S. judge in Honolulu ruled earlier this month that prosecutors cannot proceed with a retrial against U.S. State Department Special Agent Christopher Deedy.
Deedy was in Honolulu for a 2011 international summit when he shot Kollin Elderts during an altercation in a McDonald’s.
A 2013 murder trial ended in a hung jury. A second jury in 2014 acquitted him of murder but deadlocked on manslaughter.
Deedy’s defense attorneys argued a third trial on manslaughter would violate the double jeopardy clause of the Constitution.
Minimum sentence set for Maui man
HONOLULU — A Maui man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend who disappeared while pregnant with his child must serve at least 50 years before he is eligible for parole.
The Hawaii Paroling Authority set a minimum sentence of 50 years for Steven Capobianco, who was found guilty of second-degree murder in December 2016 in the death of 27-year-old Carly “Charli” Scott. He also was convicted of second-degree arson for burning Scott’s vehicle.
Scott was five months pregnant when she disappeared in in 2014 on Maui. Her body was never found.
Second Circuit Chief Judge Joseph Cardoza sentenced Capobianco to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 2017. Under the authority’s sentencing minimum, Capobianco will be eligible for parole in June 2064.
Capobianco was also sentenced to five years in prison last year after he pleaded no contest to unrelated charges that included burglary, theft, attempted promotion of prison contraband and carrying a deadly weapon.
Plan to move crowded Oahu jail moves ahead
HONOLULU — State officials are planning to relocate an overcrowded and deteriorating jail on Oahu next to the state prison in Honolulu.
Gov. David Ige announced Tuesday the plans to rebuild the Oahu Community Correctional Center on a new site after he and the state Office of Environmental Quality Control accepted the environmental review for the project.
The state is planning to move the jail to the current site of the state’s Animal Quarantine Station in Halawa, which is near the Halawa Correctional Facility.
The current facility in Honolulu’s Kalihi neighborhood was constructed to hold 954 people, but it had 1,222 detainees as of Tuesday. The new jail is expected to have beds for 1,335 inmates.
Relocating the current jail also allows redevelopment opportunities for its land, which is next to the planned rail route.
The project is estimated to cost $525 million, which includes the new jail facility and the relocation of the quarantine station.
The jail’s female inmates are planned to be transferred to the Women’s Community Correctional Center in Kailua, Oahu.
Funding for the project will need to be secured from the state Legislature. Officials hope to have the project completed by the end of 2023.
Strong quake strikes in Pacific
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A strong earthquake struck in the Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the magnitude-7.1 quake hit Wednesday afternoon about 143 miles east of Tadine in New Caledonia’s Loyalty Islands.
The quake was about 181 miles from Isangel in Vanuatu. The USGS says it was about 16 miles deep.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.