Hawai'i Kai gunman gets harshest penalty under law
By David Waite
Advertiser Court Writer
A Hawai'i Kai man who fired more than 100 bullets into the area below his high-rise apartment on Aug. 7, 2000, was sentenced yesterday to life in prison without parole, the most severe penalty allowed under Hawai'i law.
Peter Takeda, 40, was found guilty in October of attempted first-degree murder and related firearms charges.
No one was injured in the six-hour standoff, which closed Hawai'i Kai Drive, halted classes at nearby schools and forced neighbors to evacuate. It ended after Takeda surrendered to police.
Deputy Prosecutor Lucianne Khalaf asked Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto to take into account the number of police officers whose lives were put at risk when they responded to the gun fire.
But Takeda's attorney, state Deputy Public Defender Todd Eddins, told the judge that the incident was "an aberration" and "out of character" for Takeda, who had suffered for months from a painful back injury.
"Not a single bullet was recovered from the vicinity of any single police officer," Eddins said.
He noted that Takeda's trial took place in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, a time when police officers across the country "were cloaked in a veil of purity," which likely contributed to a faulty verdict in Takeda's case.
Takeda's older sister, Lucia Takeda, told Judge Sakamoto that her brother is a "caring, compassionate and kind person who went out of his way to help others and a responsible father."
Peter Takeda told Sakamoto he was "very sorry for what happened" and will "always regret" his actions.
"At the time of the incident, I was not in the right state of mind," Takeda said. "I never intended to kill or harm anyone."
In handing down the sentence of life without parole, which is mandatory when a guilty verdict is returned against someone charged with attempted first-degree murder, Sakamoto said what happened to Takeda was a "tragedy" resulting from the use of crystal methamphetamine or "ice."
"You have committed the worst of crimes and now must face the worst of sentences," Sakamoto said.
Reach David Waite at 525-8030 or at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com.
