Waipio murder defendant says he felt threatened

By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer

A man accused of gunning down a good Samaritan in Waipio Acres last summer took the witness stand in his own defense in Circuit Court yesterday and said he reacted instinctively when he shot Bernardino "Dino" Arado, because he was afraid Arado was preparing to hit him or his friends with a golf club.

Joseph Poomaihealani, charged with second-degree murder, said he did not aim at Arado, 38, when he pulled the trigger of a semi-automatic handgun Aug. 12, 2000.

But the prosecution said that Arado was merely going next door to see what a commotion was about. Poomaihealani shot him at nearly point-blank range because he feared that Arado might tell police he saw Poomaihealani, Poomaihealani's brother John and a third man leaving the house where one of Arado's neighbors had just been savagely beaten, prosecutors said.

The defense maintains that Poomaihealani took the handgun away from Brandon Lizardo, who is on trial in the case on assault charges, to prevent him from further injuring a man who was being pistol-whipped.

In response to questions from city Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter, Poomaihealani acknowledged that he fired a shot from the gun and that he saw Arado fall toward the ground. But he said he did not actually see Arado lying on the ground.

"I wasn't trying to hurt nobody," Poomaihealani said. "I just fired."

Three young women who were with the Poomaihealani brothers and Lizardo the night of the shooting all testified that Arado made no threatening gestures with the golf club he was carrying and said nothing threatening to the group.

Poomaihealani, however, gave a different account.

He said Arado asked, "What ... is going on," and then began to raise the golf club as he approached Poomaihealani and his companions.

"At that moment, with the situation coming down, we never know what we was faced with," Poomaihealani said. He said he did not know why the women all testified that Arado, who had just come home from a golf outing, did not brandish the club.