Arakawa pleads not guilty, seeks $50,000 bail reduction
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
Attorneys for a former Honolulu police officer charged with manslaughter entered a not-guilty plea yesterday.
Advertiser library photo
Michael Ostendorp and co-counsel Guy Matsunaga entered the plea on behalf of Clyde Arakawa and told Circuit Judge Richard Perkins they will seek to have their client's bail reduced from $100,000 to $50,000. Perkins placed Arakawa on supervised release last week to allow him to arrange for bail.
The trial for Clyde Arakawa is scheduled for the week of July 16.
Perkins already has reduced bail from $250,000 to $100,000.
In public statements last week, Arakawa said he did not cause the death of 19-year-old Dana Ambrose in a traffic collision Oct. 7 at Pali Highway and School Street. He said he was not driving drunk and did not run a red light at the intersection.
Ostendorp and Matsunaga say it was Ambrose who illegally entered the intersection.
Prosecutors say they have witness statements that contradict Arakawa's claim. Honolulu City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle is seeking a manslaughter conviction, which carries a 20-year prison term.
Perkins set Arakawa's trial before Judge Karen Ahn for the week of July 16.
