A 55-year-old homeless Puna man accused of the beating death last week in Glenwood of an acclaimed artist was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday.
Instead, to the surprise of almost no one, the attorney for Michael Cecil Lee requested a mental examination for his client, who is charged with attempted second-degree murder in the death of 75-year-old Shingo Honda, who also was a Zen priest.
Hilo District Judge Kanani Laubach granted the motion by Deputy Public Defender Jeffrey Ng for the examination by three mental health professionals to determine Lee’s fitness to proceed to trial and penal responsibility. Penal responsibility takes into account whether Lee had the mental capacity to understand the wrongfulness of his actions at the time of the alleged offense.
According to court documents filed by police, Lee, who was taken into custody Saturday at the annual Pahoa Christmas parade, admitted to the slaying and told officers he did it because he believed Honda was a “war criminal.” Honda had reportedly attempted to befriend Lee.
Ng requested the examinations be performed by Big Island psychologists and/or psychiatrists instead of doctors from Oahu. Deputy Prosecutor Shannon Kagawa had no objection and the judge granted the request.
Laubach set a hearing for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 28, 2020, with the doctors’ reports due by Jan. 21.
Wednesday’s hearing was brief, about a minute in length, with none of the loud, staccato outbursts by Lee that occurred during his initial appearance Monday.
As Lee was being escorted from the courtroom by sheriffs’ deputies, a gray-haired man sitting in the front row of the gallery said, “Hey Lee, Lee … your mother.”
“Yeah,” Lee replied, and shot the man middle-finger gestures with both manacled hands before he was led through the door to the courtroom cellblock.
Lee remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.