LIHU‘E — Prosecutors continued to make their case against Vicente Hilario on Friday by calling a key witness to the stand.
Hilario is on trial for the Dec. 17, 2010, murder of Aureo Moore, a witness who was set to testify against him in a drug robbery that occurred months earlier.
Angienora “Pua” Crawford testified under an agreement of immunity on Friday that she had been given pills in exchange for arranging a meeting between Hilario and Moore — where the victim was shot and killed.
In 2010, Crawford served as a “middleman” in drug deals and was an addict herself, she testified. On the morning of Dec. 17, 2010, Moore contacted her in hopes of buying pills.
She then called Hilario, seeking out pills. He requested she set up a meeting between himself and Moore, which she agreed to do in hopes of receiving pills in return.
“I knew Vinny wanted to see Aureo, and Aureo didn’t want to see Vinny,” said Crawford.
Hilario originally wanted to set up a meeting near Aliomanu Beach, which Crawford said she didn’t feel was safe enough.
“I was concerned for Aureo,” she said.
Hilario eventually decided the meeting would take place at the lookout near Anahola Beach Park.
Crawford said she didn’t know what Hilario planned to do when he met up with Moore, and that she “thought he just wanted to talk to him.”
Packing up a yard sale, she was running and bringing her three kids along with her. Crawford drove to pick Moore up at Kealia Beach. On the drive to Anahola, Moore told Crawford he no longer wanted to testify against Hilario in the robbery case.
Despite her concern, Crawford did not inform Moore about the meeting with Hilario during the car ride.
“I guess I was keeping quiet,” she told prosecutors. “Honestly, I wanted to get a pill out of it.”
After the 10 minute drive, Crawford dropped Moore off at the Anahola Beach Park Lookout. Moore handed her $100 to purchase pills for him.
Continuing down the road, she spotted Hilario, who gestured for her to turn into Anahola Village Park. The pair met at the gazebo, where Crawford remembered Hilario plugging in his phone and handing her five oxycodone pills from his sunglasses case.
She testified that when she tried to pay him with Moore’s $100, Hilario responded — “No, that’s for you.”
He then said “If anyone asks, you didn’t see me. You’re going to drive the other direction.”
Crawford drove left out of the park, toward upper Anahola.
“I was driving around wondering what the hell just happened. What did I just agree to?” said Crawford.
“What happened while you were driving,” asked Prosecutor Matthew Arakawa.
“Then I heard sirens,” she said.
Moore’s body was found by police that morning near Anahola Beach Park, shot six times.
Crawford told multiple stories to the police about the event in the weeks after Moore’s killing, before, when granted immunity from prosecution, she testified to this version.
This is the second time Hilario has been on trial for the Moore killing. In 2013, Hilario was convicted of murder in the first degree, and then sentenced to life in prison. But the conviction was remanded for a new trial on appeal due to procedural issues.
This trial is happening almost a decade to the day from when the first trial occurred, leaving many witnesses struggling with their memories about the case. About a dozen times, prosecutors had to show Crawford her prior testimony to refresh her memory.
In his cross-examination, Hilario — who is serving as his own attorney — tried to cast doubt on Crawford’s recollection of events, with mixed results. He first tried to push Crawford to acknowledge she may have told him Moore did not want to testify against him. If Hilario had been privy to that information, it could weaken his motive in the jury’s eyes.
“Is it a possibility you could have told me?” Hilario asked.
“It was such a short interaction, it may not have come up,” said Crawford.
“But it may have?” said Hilario.
“It may,” Crawford said.
Hilario then tried to cast doubt on her recollection of another key point she had testified to — that he had decided upon the meeting place between himself and Moore.
“Are you sure about that?” Hilario pressed.
“Yes,” said Crawford.
The case is set to reconvene on Monday.
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Guthrie Scrimgeour, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-0329 or gscrimgeour@thegardenisland.com.
