Miti "Junior" Maugaotega Jr., who turns 18 on Sept. 29, agreed today to waive his right to a Family Court hearing. Judge Frances Wong questioned Maugaotega extensively to make sure he understood what he was doing before granting the waiver, which takes effect Friday.

Maugaotega has been charged as a juvenile with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, three firearm offenses and two drug offenses. He will now be charged as an adult in connection with the Punchbowl case. The drug charges are related to to three packets of cocaine and two smoking pipes police said they found in his bag when he was arrested.

The charges stem from the June 26 shooting of Eric Kawamoto, who surprised a burglar inside his Punchbowl home. Kawamoto was shot in the chest with a .45-caliber pistol.

Deputy Public Defender Carolyn Brown, Maugaotega’s attorney, said her client decided to forgo today’s hearing because it was obvious what the ruling would be. The defense cannot present a case in juvenile-waiver hearings because the judge’s decision is based solely on police and social-worker reports, said Brown.

"Based on that and his age (18 in a month), he knew well what the court would conclude," Brown said.

Maugaotega will be held at the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility until Friday, said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jennifer Ching.

Although he has been waived for the Punchbowl shooting case, Maugaotega may go through the Family Court process again. Police have four other multiple-felony cases pending against him. He has been arrested as a juvenile in those cases but has not been charged. If he is charged in those cases prosecutors will have to waive him for trial as an adult separately for each case, said Ching.

The pending cases involve three first-degree sex-assault counts, multiple armed robbery counts and burglary stemming from four break-ins during a 34-day period.

Maugaotega hugged his mother and 10 other friends and relatives today before being taken out of the courtroom.