LIHU‘E — A 5th Circuit Court judge set a May trial date for Vicente Kotekapika Hilario, but his attorney will likely have to ask for the hearing to be postponed due to a scheduling conflict. At a hearing Monday morning
LIHU‘E — A 5th Circuit Court judge set a May trial date for Vicente Kotekapika Hilario, but his attorney will likely have to ask for the hearing to be postponed due to a scheduling conflict.
At a hearing Monday morning at the Lihu‘e courthouse, Honolulu-based defense attorney Keith Shigetomi told Judge Randal Valenciano that he was set to work a trial in Hilo on the same date. Additionally, his client was unwilling to waive his right to Rule 48 of Hawai‘i’s Rules of Penal Procedure.
“Your honor, at this point, he’s not willing to wait,” Shigetomi told Valenciano, as Hilario stood next to him in an orange jumpsuit.
In this instance, Rule 48 essentially asks that the court, on motion of the defendant, dismiss the charge if a trial is not commenced within six months from the date of the defendant’s arrest. Police arrested Hilario on Dec. 17.
The estimated four- to six-week trial is set to begin at 8 a.m. on May 9.
Valenciano said he didn’t have much room for scheduling considering Rule 48. He told Shigetomi he would have to deal with his scheduling problem, noting that the trial could have begun that morning. It was originally set to begin at that time, but was pushed back during a pretrial hearing in late March.
Following the hearing and a discussion with Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho and the judge in chambers, Shigetomi said the Hilo trial had been set first and was an older case. Therefore, he would likely ask to postpone Hilario’s trial.
“He’s just asserting his right to a speedy trial,” Shigetomi said of his client.
Iseri-Carvalho said her office is ready to go.
“We’ll be ready to proceed at any time,” she said.
If Shigetomi can’t make the trial, the case would likely be continued, said First Deputy Prosecutor Jake Delaplane.
During the hearing, Shigetomi noted that he is awaiting reports from the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, including the autopsy for Aureo Moore, the Kapa‘a man whom Hilario allegedly shot and killed.
He is accused of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, retaliating against a witness, intimidating a witness and bribery of a witness, stemming from 34-year-old Moore’s death on a public road near Anahola Beach Park.
Iseri-Carvalho said the source of the delay is a contract doctor who is conducting autopsies for Kaua‘i and all the Neighbor Islands. She added that the defense is still conducting its investigation, and her office has yet to receive its report.
“Both parties would benefit from additional time to provide discovery to each other,” she said.
• Jessica Musicar, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or by e-mailing jmusicar@thegarden
island.com.
