LIHU‘E — Testimony in the first-degree murder trial of Vicente Kote Kapika Hilario continued Wednesday with two detectives and an assistant chief of the Kaua‘i Police Department. County Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Melinda Mendes and Ramsey Ross presented four state witnesses,
LIHU‘E — Testimony in the first-degree murder trial of Vicente Kote Kapika Hilario continued Wednesday with two detectives and an assistant chief of the Kaua‘i Police Department.
County Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Melinda Mendes and Ramsey Ross presented four state witnesses, including Assistant Chief Roy Asher and Detectives Vicki Fonoimoana and Joseph Adric.
Jon Miyajima was called to the stand, but after a bench conference requested by court appointed defense attorney Keith Shigetomi the witness was excused without being questioned.
The testimony involved the Dec. 17, 2010, shooting death of Aureo Moore, 34. Hilario, 26, of Anahola, is charged with the murder, along with second-degree murder in the alternative, retaliating against a witness, intimidating a witness and bribery of a witness.
Detective testifies
Detective James Miller was in charge of the investigation, and as Investigative Service Bureau chief, Asher said he acted in a supervisory role to coordinate activity between sections of the department. He also worked on the ground in the search of Joe Rapozo.
Asher said he was told Joe Rapozo was not at the 4224 Anahola Road home, and that he was not yet privy to information making Hilario, who is Rapozo’s nephew, a suspect in the case.
He dropped Detective Bernard Purisma off at the Anahola soccer field and returned to the Rapozo home. Between the two locations he said they hoped to catch the suspect attempting to make his way home.
One of Hilario’s uncles was in the yard and was reportedly talking to Hilario on a cell phone, Asher said. He asked him to have Hilario come to the home and “clear his name,” he said.
Fonoimoana testified to being one of four officers in front of the Rapozo home shortly after 12:30 p.m. She too had not received updated information that Detective Shane Sokei made Hilario a suspect.
The word at the time was to be on the lookout for an “older male,” she said.
A red, Ford pickup truck approached the home using Anahola Road from the north, she said. She recalled that Rapozo was the driver and that she saw at least one other person in the car, a young adult woman in the front passenger seat.
Fonoimoana did not recall seeing Hilario in the vehicle, she said, but that she was focused on the driver while serving in a backup role to Asher and at least one other officer who were asking questions.
Assistant chief testifies
Asher testified that Rapozo was the driver and that Hilario was the only other passenger he recalled seeing in the car. The truck was allowed to pass and continued around the fenced yard to another entrance at the home.
Minutes later Hilario walked through a break in the hedges surrounding the yard to speak with Fonoimoana, she said. As a young male she thought he was a teenager and wasn’t alarmed because he didn’t fit the suspect description at the time.
Asher then spoke to Hilario, asking about his father, who was a former student of Asher’s when he was a teacher, she said. Hilario replied that he didn’t know his whereabouts, and then repeated several times, “I was in Kilauea with my uncle, ask my Uncle Joe.”
Fonoimoana said that around this time Asher patted Hilario down but did not cuff him. He had him sit in a squad car and another officer took him to the crime scene where an identification was made at the crime scene, she said.
Shigetomi asked Asher just what information was learned, and what Hilario could have said that changed his status to suspect between the Rapozo home and the crime scene. If he was a suspect then was he read his rights before being spoken to about the crime?
Asher said nothing had really changed. It was that his focus had still been on Rapozo, and by the time they reached the crime scene, it was apparent that Hilario was a suspect.
Making an arrest away from the home where it might have greatly upset other family and people in the area was also a factor, he said.
Both Fonoimoana and Asher testified that no civilian was allowed near Hilario once the arrest was made. Asher said he saw Hilario’s grandmother, Lorraine Rapozo, at the scene but that she did not hug the suspect as she testified to doing on Tuesday.
Shigetomi also questioned Asher about his role in interviewing Jens Kyler Hanson-Loo and David Manaku, the other two individuals arrested in connection to the murder. He was specifically interested in the amount of cooperation from Manaku before and after his initial court appearance.
After several interviews with Manaku the murder weapon was still not located, even with Manaku leading police around the Anahola crime scenes, Shigetomi said. After an unhappy court appearance the weapon was found with his help — after speaking to then County Prosecuting Attorney Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho, he said.
Asher said that that Manaku was not pressured but was made aware of the consequences of being a defendant charged with second-degree murder or conspiracy to murder, as opposed to being a witness for the prosecution.
He agreed to set up a meeting with Iseri-Carvalho after asking Manaku just what information he was going to provide. By the time the prosecutor started her meeting, Asher said he left to contact officers in Anahola about where to locate the murder weapon offshore.
Hanson-Loo was also subject of many “good cop-bad cop” interviews, where his relation to uncle Damien Loo, a KPD officer, and his grandmother, Audrey Loo, was used to “shame” cooperation, according to Shigetomi.
Detective Adric, who will complete his testimony Friday, said they too use the facts of consequences based on available information to help the suspect understand their situation clearly.
Asher noted that the suspects lied many times before they began to get at the truth by introducing a lot of new outside information from other witnesses and investigation, he said.
More detective testimony
Adric testified as the officer who was presented with the .25 caliber pistol found in the ocean, apparently where Manaku directed them to look on Dec. 20.
Shigetomi asked Adric if the interview of Hanson-Loo was stopped after he asked about his right against self-incrimination and for a lawyer. Adric replied that Hanson-Loo was considered a witness and not a co-conspirator.
The defense attorney followed by asking if they were looking for answers or telling him what to say.
Adric agreed that the detectives assertions about the difference between being a suspect and a witness may have sounded accusatory. He said that letting Hanson-Loo know what had to be done to “go home” or face possible charges did not amount to promises or threats to illicit a response.
If he was a suspect, would not stopping the interview when he asked for a lawyer be a violation of his rights, Shigetomi asked.
“Yes,” Adric replied.
Testimony will continue on Friday at 8:30 a.m.
The day had been cleared off of the calendar for another trial involving Shigetomi on O‘ahu, however, the scheduling conflict was resolved according to a court clerk.
• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
