Widow to testify at Latchum murderers' sentencing

By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer

The widow of an Army helicopter pilot who was fatally shot while vacationing in Wai'anae three years ago will have to wait until Tuesday to tell a federal judge what her slain husband meant to her and the couple's two children.

Wendy Latchum was scheduled to testify yesterday at a hearing to sentence of one of the two men found guilty of murdering her husband, John Latchum Jr., in June 1998.

But sentencing for Bryson Jose, 22, of Wai'anae, was continued until Tuesday after he told U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor that he no longer wants to be represented in the case by attorney Donald Wilkerson.

Gillmor admonished Wilkerson for not formally notifying the court that Jose was asking to change lawyers, and said she will hold a hearing later on possible sanctions against Wilkerson.

The other man found guilty of murder in the case, Roberto Miguel, 21, of Makaha, is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday morning. Gillmor continued sentencing for Jose until Tuesday afternoon so that Wendy Latchum, and perhaps her son, will have an opportunity to testify at the sentencing for both men. The two were found guilty of murder at a jury trial in December.

John Latchum Jr., 33, was hit in the chest June 3, 1998, by a .22-caliber bullet after he and his wife stepped onto the porch of a rented beach cabin at the Wai'anae Army Recreation Center to chase away a group of young men whom the couple thought were trying to break in.

Wendy Latchum and the couple's two young children, who were asleep when their father were shot, were not injured in the incident.

Yesterday, she said she paid the airfare to Hawai'i for son Josh, now 11, and daughter Breanna, 7, so they could attend the sentencing hearings.

Latchum said she wants to provide her children a sense of closure in their father's death and answer some of their questions, including what the men who killed their father look like. Although the two children slept through the shooting, they awakened later. Their last glimpse of their father while he was still alive came as paramedics were struggling to save him.

"I felt it was important to be here to address the court and to explain what these men did to our lives," Latchum said after Jose's sentencing was postponed.

Because the trial lasted more than six weeks last fall and school was in session, her two children could not attend, she said. School began for the children earlier this week in Shalimar, Fla., where they now live.

"We have some very good memories of our time in Hawai'i," Latchum said.

"Unfortunately, the worst memory of our lives also happened in Hawai'i."

She said the felt obligated to her late husband to attend the sentencing.

"We miss him terribly, and we know that he would be here for me if it would have been me instead of him," she said.

When the time comes — hopefully on Tuesday — she said she wants to tell Miguel and Jose about the pain and suffering they have caused her, her children and the rest of John Latchum Jr.'s family and friends. The family intends to return to Florida Tuesday night.

According to testimony during the trial, Miguel fired the shot that struck and killed John Latchum Jr. Under federal law, however, Jose was also found guilty of "felony murder" because he was attempting to rob the Latchum family and burglarize the cabin when the shooting took place.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Jose and Miguel both face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Gillmor, meanwhile, did not say what kind of penalties she might impose on Wilkerson for not notifying her court in a timely manner that Jose wanted to drop him as his attorney.

Wilkerson also represents former city housing official Michael Kahapea, who was convicted to theft. Wilkerson was fined $250 by a judge in January for failing to appear at a Dec. 21 hearing to determine how much restitution Kahapea should pay.

Circuit Judge Reynaldo Graulty decided not to follow through with a threatened criminal contempt charge, but told Wilkerson to pay the fine to a charity. Graulty said Wilkerson failed to appear for the hearing "at a time of great importance to Mr. Kahapea."

Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.