Navy man guilty of murder in $70 phone-debt dispute

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

A Navy man was found guilty of premeditated murder yesterday and sentenced to life with parole for the May 4, 2001, shooting death of a sailor he described as his "best friend."

At least two-thirds of the panel of 10 officers voted to convict Petty Officer 3rd Class Hawan T. Campbell, 24, in court-martial proceedings at Pearl Harbor, Navy officials said.

Campbell will have to serve a minimum of 20 years before he is eligible for parole. He was accused of shooting Seaman Gregory Ballard five times — including a final shot just inches from his head — in a rage outside Gabrunas Hall.

The shooting followed a night of partying in Waikiki by the two men. Ballard was scheduled to be discharged from the Navy the day he was killed.

Prosecutors said Campbell failed to pay up on a $70 debt he owed for using a phone card number belonging to Ballard's roommate. Ballard, 29, was told by superiors to collect the money from Campbell before he would be discharged, and the two men got into a shouting and shoving match over the debt, prosecutors said.

Campbell previously admitted he drove home to Waipahu and brought a Glock .40-caliber handgun back to Pearl Harbor, but insisted he did so only after Ballard told him he needed to borrow it "for protection."

"This case is about an awful human tragedy ... and ultimately, the senseless, senseless taking of another human life, really for no reason in the end," the prosecutor, Lt. Cmdr. Barry Harrison, said during opening arguments.

In a phone conversation from his cell on Ford Island, Campbell previously suggested that Ballard's killing was a drug hit.

He maintained that his confession was coerced by investigators who threatened him with the death penalty. Because the charge was murder, his conviction will be readily appealed.