LIHU‘E — A co-defendant in a case involving the killing of a pet goat has missed a second consecutive hearing in 5th Circuit Court. Ryan Jacob Winchell, 29, of Las Vegas, missed a hearing Monday in what would have been
LIHU‘E — A co-defendant in a case involving the killing of a pet goat has missed a second consecutive hearing in 5th Circuit Court.
Ryan Jacob Winchell, 29, of Las Vegas, missed a hearing Monday in what would have been his trial date for first-degree criminal trespass, livestock theft, second-degree theft, illegal placement of ammunition, unloaded firearm, first-degree criminal property damage and cruelty to animals.
Winchell is a resident of Las Vegas and last appeared in court by phone on May 15. The court granted his request to leave the state to attend college on $8,100 bail.
Judge Kathleen N. A. Watanabe said in court that the motion requires Winchell to return to Kaua‘i for court hearings until trial. She said the violation resulted in the forfeit of his posted bail.
The judge issued a new warrant for failure to appear on Sept. 5. She ordered $100,000 bail, which remained in effect following the Monday hearing.
Winchell’s attorney, John Schum, said in May that if a change of plea was reached he would file by June 25. No plea was reached and the case continued to trial.
When Winchell failed to appear for a Sept. 5 hearing, his defense attorney John Schum informed the court that the defendant’s mother and an airline carrier confirmed that he departed Los Angeles. However, Winchell did not appear at his Kaua‘i hotel as scheduled.
Watanabe ordered a warrant and $100,000 bail, with any amount posted thus far to be forfeited.
The judge also granted Schum’s oral motion to withdraw as counsel at the Sept. 5 hearing. There was no attorney present in court for Winchell on Monday.
The co-defendant, Russell Kekoa Ho‘omanawanui, 28, of Anahola, was in court Monday and had his trial date continued from Sept. 22 to Feb. 4, 2013. His original trial was set for May 21, but was delayed with the withdrawal of his private counsel and the appointment of State Deputy Public Defender Stephanie Sato.
On Monday, State Deputy Public Defender John Calma, filling in for Sato, said the defendant was waiting for Winchell’s decision to change his plea or go to trial before making his own. He is free on $8,000 bail.
Ho‘omanawanui was arrested June 30 and Winchell was arrested July 18. They are each charged with the same crimes.
The charges relate to the death of a pet goat that belonged to Kilauea’s Kunana Dairy. The farm is owned by the Wooton family.
According to reports at the time, the three-year-old goat named Kaitlyn was tame and pregnant. The charges claim the goat was disemboweled in May 2011, with her organs and two unborn kids left behind in a Moloa‘a field.
