The trial of a Lawa‘i man for a litany of charges, including first-degree attempted murder, originally scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed due to a 5th Circuit judge’s conflict of interest. Judge Randal Valenciano said at a June 23 hearing
The trial of a Lawa‘i man for a litany of charges, including first-degree attempted murder, originally scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed due to a 5th Circuit judge’s conflict of interest.
Judge Randal Valenciano said at a June 23 hearing that he had represented defendant Manuel Harding Andrade Jr. in a family court matter as an attorney in private practice, according to Court spokeswoman Marsha Kitagawa.
Valenciano transferred Andrade’s three outstanding cases from his courtroom to Judge Kathleen Watanabe’s, delaying the trial until Aug. 11.
One of those cases includes 14 charges stemming from an April 9 incident in which Andrade allegedly burglarized Kauai Coffee Co. headquarters in Kalaheo.
An officer tried to arrest Andrade, but he resisted, according to county officials. Andrade then reportedly stole a Kaua‘i Coffee pick-up truck and almost ran over two officers while fleeing the scene.
Andrade continued to drive recklessly, heading westbound on Kaumuali‘i Highway until he crashed into a guardrail in the vicinity of ‘Ele‘ele Shopping Center.
When police attempted to subdue the man, he again resisted arrest, assaulting and injuring two officers.
The charges related to that case are first-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault of an officer, second-degree assault, second-degree assault of an officer, second-degree burglary, unauthorized control of a vehicle, first-degree criminal property damage, two counts of first-degree terroristic threatening, resisting arrest and resisting an order to stop a vehicle.
When Andrade was finally taken into custody, contraband was reportedly discovered, leading to additional charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and third-degree promotion of both a dangerous drug and a detrimental drug.
A second case includes charges for kidnapping, first-degree terroristic threatening, two counts of third-degree assault, harassment and interference with the reporting of a crime.
The third case to be heard next month includes charges of family abuse consisting of choking, third-degree assault and harassment.
Deputy prosecuting attorneys Lila Kanae and Shannon Parrott will be handling the case, with Kanae dealing with the bulk of Andrade’s offenses and Parrott focusing primarily on the family abuse charges, according to County Prosecuting Attorney Craig De Costa.
According to police records, Andrade has a long history of criminal activity, with convictions for burglary on the islands of Kaua‘i, O‘ahu and Maui as well as convictions for theft, forgery and escape beginning in the late 1980s.
Andrade remains in custody, according to a spokesperson for the county prosecutor’s office, with the aggregate bail for the multiple cases set at more than $1 million.
