Posted on: Thursday, October 24, 2002

Man gets new trial in '98 shooting

Advertiser Staff

The Hawai'i Intermediate Court of Appeals has ordered a new trial for an O'ahu man who was sentenced to life in prison without parole for shooting a police officer in the abdomen near Makapu'u Lookout in 1998.

Peter Moses was sentenced to the mandatory life term after being convicted of attempted first-degree murder for shooting officer Earl Haskell.

After Haskell was shot, Moses also suffered wounds when police fired at him.

Moses suffered a grazing wound to the head and other wounds to his legs, shoulder and neck.

As part his hospital treatment, toxicology tests were done that showed he had taken cocaine. The prosecution introduced those tests at Moses' trial.

In its decision Monday, the appeals court ruled that the trial judge erred by allowing the introduction of the tests.

The court let stand Moses' conviction for breaking into a rental car, which led to the shooting. But the court ordered a new trial on the attempted murder charge.