LIHU‘E — The accused murderer in a 6-year-old cold case was arraigned in Kaua‘i District Court Monday. Darren Galas, 40, of Kalaheo, is accused of killing his estranged wife, Sandra Galas, 27. He was arraigned Monday before per diem Judge
LIHU‘E — The accused murderer in a 6-year-old cold case was arraigned in Kaua‘i District Court Monday.
Darren Galas, 40, of Kalaheo, is accused of killing his estranged wife, Sandra Galas, 27. He was arraigned Monday before per diem Judge Joseph N. Kobayashi, who presided over the brief afternoon hearing. Bail was set at $1 million.
Galas appeared in a blue T-shirt and light blue shorts. He appeared alert but kept his head low and did not speak to the court.
Following the district court arraignment, decisions regarding a felony indictment continued in Fifth Circuit Court by order of the Supreme Court of Hawai‘i. Delays in the grand jury process prompted the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney to request the order, with plans to request Judge Kathleen Watanabe recused from the trial.
Sandra Galas was found dead in her car that was parked inside the garage of her ‘Ele‘ele home on Jan. 25, 2006. An autopsy determined she had been strangled and suffered blunt force trauma to the head.
Darren and Sandra Galas were reportedly in a custody battle over their two young children at the time. Darren Galas has since remarried and the children have been in his custody ever since the murder, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
The first order of business on Monday for Kobayashi was to note that he was appointed legal guardian of a life insurance trust on behalf of the two Galas children. He said it was not a conflict of interest for the purposes of arraignment and there were no objections.
County Prosecuting Attorney Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho represented the state, and presented charging documents to private attorney Tehina Ickes. Ickes represented Galas for the arraignment on behalf of Michael Green, who will be present with Galas at his preliminary hearing Wednesday.
The district court hearing would determine if sufficient evidence is present to prosecute Galas on one count of second-degree murder.
The preliminary hearing may not be necessary, however, if the court receives grand jury evidence today, and if it finds that probable cause exists for a felony indictment.
The 5th Circuit grand jury met last Thursday to hear evidence on several cases, one of which was the Galas case. Anticipating a long session, the OPA said it made arrangements to move the hearing to Friday morning.
After five hours of testimony, First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jake Delaplane said the court was notified that the grand jury was ready with its presentation of evidence. The court responded that it was not available Friday afternoon and that the appropriate action was to schedule it for the December grand jury session.
The OPA wanted the indictment to request an arrest warrant, and to avoid calling back witnesses for a preliminary hearing in district court. They had just testified in the grand jury session, and Delaplane said it would be a waste of state resources.
Time became a factor after Delaplane said he received calls from media representatives asking about rumors of a possible murder trial. When the chun
court refused to receive the grand jury evidence, he said there was a concern that information could alert Galas of an impending arrest.
Working with police, OPA gained a district court order to arrest and detain Galas on Friday, and then schedule the district arraignment until the indictment matter was cleared.
The OPA then requested the 5th Circuit to convene an open session by Monday to receive a return from the grand jury session held Friday. The policy of the court for grand jury sessions that are not completed by the end of the scheduled day is to continue them to the next bimonthly session, according to Watanabe on Monday. In this case, that would not be until December.
The OPA was told that the court was not available on Friday afternoon and denied a request to receive the decision on evidence. Watanabe instructed OPA to file a motion for the request.
Watanabe said Monday that the court would not act on its own without a motion or an order.
After determining that no circuit court motion could be filed prior to a case being filed, Iseri-Carvolho petitioned the Supreme Court of Hawai‘i Monday for a writ of mandamus. The court ruled unanimously and issued an order for Watanabe to hold the hearing to receive grand jury evidence before 4 p.m. Monday.
Delaplane said the petition was the only action and the appropriate action without the ability to file a motion.
The hearing began at 3:30 p.m., when Jonathan Chun, special counsel to the grand jury, said the court was not able to contact either the grand jury floor person, or the vice floor person to appear at the hearing. The hearing was continued until today.
Watanabe said the court was in compliance for holding the hearing and issuing the continuance. She said the writ was excessive, and that the court was “ready, willing and able” to cooperate with OPA and was expecting a motion to request the hearing.
Watanabe said the court was disappointed with the extreme measures that she said were not necessary to resolve the matter. Watanabe is filing her own letter to the Supreme Court about the petition and statements that she said were misrepresented and untrue.
Delaplane said the OPA would be filing another petition to have Watanabe recused from the case citing retaliation for the writ. He said his major concern was not to cast doubt on the process that led to the prosecution of this case. Delaplane said it is about the validity of the grand jury process. It would take a five-minute hearing to receive the evidence instead of several days of a an unnecessary preliminary hearing, he said.
Chief Judge Randal Valenciano also has a potential conflict in the case. While in private practice, he represented Darren Galas in the couple’s divorce proceedings.
• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
