The first-degree murder trial of Vicente Hilario became a highly anticipated case after the daytime shooting of Aureo Moore near Anahola Beach Park in December, 2010.
But after four weeks of jury selection and two weeks of testimony, the real fireworks are set to begin.
Hilario, now 26, looks lean and fit compared to the booking photos that were taken at cellblock the murder on Dec. 27, 2010. His time in court these past two weeks have been filled with note-taking, reading court materials and conferring with his attorney regarding witness testimony.
Meanwhile, the 12-member jury and the two alternates left, who made it through the screening process of 300 people, have been receiving plenty of breaks, and there have been only a few days when testimony ran past 4 p.m.
The judge has spared the jury of most objections from either counsel, calling them to approach for a bench conference whenever issues are raised.
Still, the first juror to be excused from the trial came at the end of the hearing on Friday. Alternate juror No. 4 was excused for work related issues.
It is still the state’s case at the end of the second week of testimony and one attorney has described these early days of the trial as “window-dressing.”
The prosecution has basically tried to paint a picture for the jury as to who was where and what they were doing on Dec. 17, 2010, when Moore was shot. There have been many days of complicated, jargon-filled testimony about chain of command of evidence.
But there have been some highlights.
The description of how he died from two shots to the head and three more to the back and neck, came from the testimony of an emergency room physician and the doctor who performed the autopsy.
Other testimony included a Honolulu Police Department firearms expert who matched the shell casings with the weapon found in a shallow inlet off of Anahola. More officers testified to taking gunpowder residue from two suspects and others to finding the weapon and clothing.
So far, placing Hilario directly at the murder scene has been only through triangulating his whereabouts through indirect witnesses. A family friend saw him walking an Anahola street barefoot with another man after the crime.
A so-called drug client of Hilario, Angienora Crawford, testified (with immunity) said she was with him at the Anahola soccer field just after she dropped Moore off at the beach park — as arranged for Hilario and unbeknownst to Moore.
A group of divers identified David Manaku and Jens Kyler Hanson-Loo in photo line-ups as two people walking away from the crime scene with a man under a hoodie.
A lifeguard said he heard shots and used binoculars to watch a shirtless man arguing with a man under a hoodie as they fled the beach park entrance area after the shooting.
In the coming week, County Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Melinda Mendes and Ramsey Ross will bring more witnesses and evidence to place Hilario at the scene as the man under the hoodie.
They will hammer home that Hilario had discussed his desire to prevent Moore from testifying against a friend accused of robbing Moore of cash and prescription medication at a trial scheduled for Dec. 27, 2010.
Mendes and Ross will likely bring in more witnesses to connect Hilario to the crime through possible gun powder residue on his hands, and corroborating evidence that may include the testimony of Manaku, who is believed to have received immunity in exchange for his testimony.
Then the sparks will really fly, as one attorney put it, when the prosecution rests and court-appointed defense attorney Keith Shigetomi presents his case.
He is expected to bring out a number of witnesses of his own —including Hanson-Loo, who, according to a previous court hearing, may testify that Manaku actually pulled the trigger.
Shigetomi, in his cross-examinations, has been insinuating that Manaku was the shooter.
He’s also called into attention the reliability of witnesses, like Crawford, who have received immunity even though they possibly had culpability in the crime itself.
• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
