Court documents filed on behalf of the estate of the 11-year-old Boy Scout who was killed Aug. 28 when a firearm accidentally was discharged said the gun was an “AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifle.”
A legal declaration filed by Kris LaGuire, attorney for the estate of Manuel “Manny” Carvalho, states that he was informed by Hawaii Police Department Capt. Rio Amon-Wilkins and Detective Jeremy Kubojiri the AK-47 is owned by Elson Wong, a Hilo resident, and that Wong has retained a criminal defense attorney.
Police have not disclosed who discharged the gun.
Police said they have forwarded their investigation to the office of county Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen, and 23 firearms-related offenses, including one for criminally negligent storage of a firearm, are under review. Those potential offenses “are against three men who were at the scene of the incident, and have been identified as the registered owners of multiple firearms,” according to police.
Eighteen firearms and ammunition for various guns were recovered as evidence at Camp Honokaia in North Hawaii, police said.
Amon-Wilkins told the Tribune-Herald last month all the potential charges being reviewed are misdemeanors that carry a maximum sentence of a year in jail.
Subpoenas have been authorized by Hilo Circuit Court and served on the police department’s records custodian and on Acting Police Chief Kenneth Bugado Jr. The subpoenas request that information about the investigation into Carvalho’s death be turned over to his estate.
The subpoenas seek complete, unredacted police reports, photographs, witness statements, interviews, diagrams, autopsy reports, narratives, toxicology reports, coroner reports, forensic reports and/or analyses, notes, drawings, 911 call records and recordings, all body-worn camera audio and video recordings, and all dispatch and police radio transmissions.
Police, through the county’s Corporation Counsel, are objecting to the subpoenas, calling them “overly broad and ambiguous” and saying the unredacted reports contain information of a “significant privacy interest.” They also argue the request imposes upon the department obligations inconsistent with or beyond those required by Hawaii civil law, and that the records sought pertain to an open criminal investigation being reviewed by prosecutors for possible charges.
The objection filed by Deputy Corporation Counsel Sylvia Wan said production of the records by police would “frustrate a legitimate government purpose.”
“Production of the requested documents could result in loss of testimony, tampering of witnesses, or destruction of evidence that would affect the ability of the state to complete its potential prosecution” of the criminal case, the document states.
Carvalho’s estate filed a petition Thursday asking the court to compel police to turn over the requested records. The petition said HPD’s reasons for not providing the records are “boilerplate, nonspecific objections that lack factual and legal foundation.”
The petition argues that Carvalho’s parents are seeking the information “as part of their investigation in pursuing a wrongful death claim against a variety of individuals and entities,” including the Boy Scouts of America, the Boy Scouts of America, Aloha Council and “those who may be charged criminally.”
It added the information sought is of “the type of public interest that overrides any privacy interest of the individuals.”
The estate described the HPD’s claim of possible witness tampering or evidence destruction as “scurrilous and false accusations.” It further said the department “is acting as if the Carvalhos are the enemies” and as if the boy’s parents “have no interest in seeing justice done or no right to pursue their civil remedies.”
“The interest of the Carvalhos is especially poignant in this case where HPD has said they have recommended only misdemeanor weapons charges,” the document states. “This is not a case of a curious individual or a news outlet seeking that information.”
LaGuire declined to comment when contacted by the Tribune-Herald.
Wan didn’t respond to a call seeking comment in time for this story.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday before Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.