Trial begins in Makaha shooting death
Advertiser Staff
Already convicted of manslaughter for his involvement in the shooting deaths of two O'ahu men in 1990 and 1995, Wallace "Ditto" Rodrigues is now on trial on second-degree murder charges in connection with the April 1988 shooting death of Lorenzo Young.
In his opening statement yesterday, city Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter told the jury the evidence in the case will show that Rodrigues, 36, shot Young in Makaha on Easter Sunday 13 years ago and then set Young's 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo on fire to try to cover up the crime.
Wallace Rodrigues has twice been found guilty of manslaughter.
But Rodrigues' lawyer, Howard Luke, said the evidence will show that Young's killer is still on the loose.
Luke said two men saw Young in his car in a parking lot off Makaha Valley Road about 30 minutes before his body was found in the burning car in a vacant lot off Kaulawa'a Road. Luke said the two men who last saw Young alive told police that he seemed upbeat and didn't express any concerns about Rodrigues, with whom he was familiar.
Ezra Balai, now 25, said yesterday that he was watching television at about 7 a.m. April 3, 1988, at his home in Makaha when he smelled smoke and went to investigate. Balai, who was 12 at the time, said he found a car on fire and later saw what appeared to be a person sitting in the driver's seat.
Police technicians later extracted the body, found a .22-caliber shell casing in the lap of the charred remains and a one-gallon can that appeared to have been filled with a flammable liquid used to start the blaze, according to court testimony.
It was not until 1998 that police obtained evidence that they believe links Rodrigues to the killing as well as the death of William "Willy" Lau in October 1990. Rodrigues was charged with murdering Lau and is awaiting trial on that charge.
Lau died when the car he had crawled under to repair was dropped on him. Police believe Lau was killed because he knew who killed alleged Wai'anae drug dealer Leo Tauoa in February 1990 and had begun talking about it.
Rodrigues pleaded guilty in 1998 to manslaughter charges stemming from the 1995 death of Wayne Pemberton, who was shot in the head and run over. Rodrigues was also convicted of murder in May 1999 for his role in the February 1990 killing of Tauoa, who also was shot in the head.
Correction: Wallace Rodrigues was convicted of murder for his role in the 1990 killing of Leo Tauoa. A previous version of this story misstated the charge against Rodrigues.
