LIHU‘E — A third jury panel began screening Tuesday for the first-degree murder trial of Vicente Kote Kapika Hilario in Fifth Circuit Court. The case went to trial on Jan. 7 when a pool of 75 jurors were screened, followed
LIHU‘E — A third jury panel began screening Tuesday for the first-degree murder trial of Vicente Kote Kapika Hilario in Fifth Circuit Court.
The case went to trial on Jan. 7 when a pool of 75 jurors were screened, followed by a second pool on Jan. 14. After the screening process continued for more than two weeks, a third pool was called and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the week.
If the selection is completed this week, it is possible that the prosecution, defense attorney and the court could interview the final candidates for the 12-member jury and four alternates, and begin opening statements as early as next week
Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Randal Valenciano is presiding over the case. The trial itself is expected to last four to six weeks.
Defense attorney Keith Shigetomi is representing Hilario. He is a court-appointed private attorney from Honolulu.
County Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Melinda Mendes and Ramsey Ross are representing the state of Hawai‘i in the case.
Hilario is charged with the first-degree murder of Aureo Moore, a 34 year-old Kapa‘a man, at Anahola Beach Park on Dec. 17, 2010.
He is also charged with second-degree murder (in the alternative to the first-degree murder charge), retaliating against a witness, intimidating a witness and bribery of a witness.
