Prosecutor says ice traded for gun
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By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
A man accused of killing a police officer in Kapolei in March traded crystal methamphetamine to get the gun he used in the shooting, the prosecutor said yesterday.
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City Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Van Marter made the remarks in a pretrial hearing in reference to how investigators believe Shane Mark, 29, obtained the gun used to kill police officer Glen Gaspar. Gaspar was killed March 4 as he and other officers scuffled with Mark in an ice cream parlor. They were trying to arrest Mark on attempted murder charges stemming from a Feb. 1 incident in 'Aiea.
Shane Mark is accused of killing a police officer March 4.
Van Marter did not elaborate on where or how Mark was supposed to have obtained the gun.
Mark's lawyer, state Deputy Public Defender Debra Loy, told Circuit Judge Karen Ahn that she will likely file a formal request to have Mark's December trial date postponed since the community is in the midst of a "crusade against ice."
Since news reports have linked Mark to crystal meth, it will be virtually impossible to find jurors who aren't biased against him until the furor over ice dies down, Loy said.
Ahn ruled yesterday that the results of a blood sample taken from Mark immediately after the shooting may not be used as evidence in the trial. Mark, who became "unresponsive" after he was taken to the Kapolei Police Station following the shooting, was taken to St. Francis Medical Center-West, where doctors drew a blood sample.
In addition to first-degree murder, Mark was also charged with felony drug possession arising from the Kapolei shooting, and the prosecution hoped the blood sample results would help bolster their drug case.
Ahn ruled, however, that the blood test amounted to private and privileged doctor-patient communications and that the prosecution does not have a legal right use the blood test results.
Van Marter said after the hearing that he does not believe that Ahn's ruling will hinder the drug or murder cases against Mark, since Ahn ruled that crystal meth found in the backpack that Mark carried with him into the ice cream store may be used as evidence.
