Posted on: Friday, November 14, 2003

Three men to stand trial in Pearl City shooting

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

A state judge yesterday ordered three men to stand trial on various charges stemming from a Nov. 1 "drug ripoff" in Pearl City that led to the fatal shooting of one man and the wounding of a second.

Honolulu District Judge Leslie Hayashi ruled there was probable cause to believe the three men committed the crimes they were charged with and ordered them turned over to Circuit Court for trial.

Hayashi ordered Micah Kanahele, 22, to stand trial on multiple charges including second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, possession of drug paraphernalia, third-degree promotion of dangerous drugs and eight firearms offenses.

Police and prosecutors contend that Kanahele and the two other men — Kevin Harris, 26, and Rosalino Ramos, 23 — arranged to meet the two victims at the Pearl City Shopping Center, ostensibly to buy a quarter-pound of marijuana from them.

Harris will stand trial on charges of first-degree robbery and unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle, while Ramos faces a first-degree robbery charge.

Winston Domingo, 24, said yesterday that Kanahele shot him in the back as he ran from a confrontation with the three suspects. He said that Kanahele ran to the passenger side of his car and shot Guylan Nuuhiwa, 26, who died from the wounds.

Honolulu Police detective Ted Coons said Harris waived his rights to an attorney after he was arrested in connection with the shooting and told him that Kanahele never planned to buy the marijuana from Domingo and Nuuhiwa, but to steal it.

Coons said Harris told him that Nuuhiwa was a longtime friend and that he was trying to get Nuuhiwa to surrender the bag of marijuana without a fight in hopes Nuuhiwa would not be injured. Coons said Harris told him that Kanahele shot Nuuhiwa before he could be persuaded to give up the marijuana.

The three are scheduled to be arraigned in Circuit Court at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 28.

Kanahele and Ramos are also charged with the murder of Greg Morishima, 49, who was shot while visiting an 'Aiea residence six days before the Pearl City shooting.

In a related matter, police arrested a 20-year-old Kalihi woman yesterday and accused her of fabricating an alibi to protect one of the suspects in the Nuuhiwa shooting. The woman faces a possible charge of hindering prosecution.

Police said the woman told police that one of the men, whom police did not identify, was with her at the time of the shooting. But witnesses told police that the woman was with the suspect at the Pearl City parking lot around the time of the shooting.