Woman confronts father's killer in court
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
When Ranasha Young came face to face with her father's killer in court yesterday, she tearfully told Wallace "Ditto" Rodrigues that she hoped he could find peace and love in his lifetime.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Young was the only person to speak at Rodrigues' sentencing hearing yesterday before Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario. Rodrigues, 36, was convicted in May of the April 1988 slaying of his cousin and Ranasha Young's father, Lorenzo Young, in Makaha.
Wallace Rodrigues, center, was called "one of the most dangerous men" in Hawai'i.
Del Rosario sentenced the Wai'anae man to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Rodrigues also was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter yesterday for the October 1990 death of William Lau.
City Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter called the four-time killer a cold-blooded murderer and "one of the most dangerous men" in Hawai'i. It is highly unlikely that Rodrigues will ever be released from prison. He already is serving a 100-year term after his conviction of a 1999 murder.
In May 1999, Rodrigues was found guilty of the 1990 slaying of Leo Tuaoa. He pleaded guilty in 1998 to manslaughter charges for the 1995 shooting death of Wayne Pemberton.
In the most recent case, Rodrigues was found guilty of shooting Young three times in the back of the head and then dousing Young and his car with gasoline and setting them afire at the end of a dirt lane in Makaha on Easter Sunday 1988. Yesterday, Ranasha Young told Rodrigues that his actions have caused great pain, not only to the victims' survivors, but for his own family. Rodrigues has three young children.
"I am thankful that I am not your child," said Young, 24. "Will they be able to grow up and become responsible citizens who share themselves and possess the ability to express love and kindness to others?
"Or have you created a cycle of hateful viciousness for your children that they may find it easier to be like you and become a burden to others, a terrible burden to our society?"
Despite the heinous crime against her father, Young said she had no bitterness for the four-time killer.
"This life may not seem like much to you any more, but being alive is still a blessing," Young said. "I pray that the people who love you will be better people because of choices you will make in your future and not dwell in the pain of choices made in your past."
Rodrigues showed no emotion and declined to address the court.
Prosecutor Marter said he was pleased with the outcome of the cases and that "justice finally has been served."
He also pointed to the killing of Lau, in which Van Marter said Rodrigues lured Lau under a car, thinking that he was helping to repair it. Instead, Rodrigues kicked out the jackstands holding up the car and it crushed Lau. Lau was a witness to the Tuaoa killing.
"If (Rodrigues) is ever released from prison he'll be an extreme danger to the community, especially to the people who testified against him," Van Marter said. "As long as he's in jail there's gonna be fewer homicides in Honolulu. That's for sure."
But Rodrigues' attorney Howard Luke said he has not seen any signs of the cold-blooded killer portrayed by the prosecution.
"I have never heard him say anything that could be construed as indicating any evidence of a pathological disorder or any kind of danger at all to either myself or to the community," Luke said. "From a personal experience with him, he is very intelligent and totally nondangerous, as far as we're concerned."
The Hawai'i Paroling Authority already has set a 100-year minimum sentence for Rodrigues before he is eligible for parole for his 1999 conviction. The parole board will again set a minimum sentence on the latest convictions.
