Teen shooting suspect to get hearing next month
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
The question of whether 17-year-old Miti Maugaotega Jr. will be tried as an adult or a juvenile in the shooting of a Punchbowl man could mean the difference between his serving less than two years in custody or possibly the rest of his life behind bars if convicted.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Senior Family Court Judge Frances Wong yesterday scheduled a hearing for Aug. 27 on whether Maugaotega will be treated as an adult in the attempted murder of Eric Kawamoto at his Puowaina Drive home on Thursday.
At an Aug. 27 hearing, 17-year-old Miti Maugaotega Jr. will find out whether he will be tried as a juvenile or adult for the attempted murder of Eric Kawamoto.
If Maugaotega is treated as a minor and found to have committed the crime, the longest he can be held under state law is until he reaches the age of 19. He turns 18 on Sept. 29.
But if he is tried as an adult, Maugaotega would face a life term with parole if convicted of attempted murder.
Wong ordered Maugaotega held at Hale Ho'omalu, the Alder Street juvenile detention facility, until the hearing.
Besides attempted murder, Maugaotega is charged with burglary, two firearms offenses and two drug offenses.
Maugaotega is accused of burglarizing Kawamoto's residence and shooting the 43-year-old electrical engineer in the chest when he came home and interrupted the burglary.
Advertiser library photo • June 28, 2003
Doctors yesterday removed the bullet from Kawamoto, and he was discharged from The Queen's Medical Center.
Eric Kawamoto was shot in the chest in his Puowaina Drive home on Thursday.
During yesterday's hearing before Judge Wong, Senior deputy prosecuting attorney Jennifer Ching argued that Maugaotega is a threat to the community because the seriousness of his alleged crimes has escalated.
In 1999, Ching said, Maugaotega broke into a store and stole a camera. Three months later, at age 15, he stole a chain and money from a fellow student.
Also, Maugaotega, who was ordered to return to American Samoa in 1999 by the Family Court and forbidden from returning to Hawai'i until his 18th birthday, violated that order by returning three months ago, Ching said.
Police have said that Maugaotega had crystal methamphetamine, or "ice," on him when he was arrested in a stream near the Hawai'i Baptist Academy in Nu'uanu within an hour of the shooting. Police also said Maugaotega told them he had smoked marijuana just before entering the Puowaina Drive home.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
His sister, Darlene Maugaotega, 19, said family members were shocked by the shooting and reports he was found with ice. But she said she and her family apologize to Kawamoto.
Members of Miti Maugaotega Jr's. family listen during his hearing in Family Court yesterday. They were ushered out a side exit after the hearing.
Police also are investigating Maugaotega's possible involvement in a June 23 break-in on Kanunu Street in which a 57-year-old woman was robbed and pistol-whipped.
Maugaotega also is being investigated in connection with a June 16 home-invasion robbery on Waikahalulu Lane in which a gun was used, and several burglaries in the Pawa'a area.
Advertiser staff writers Curtis Lum and Allison Schaefers contributed to this report.
