New trial ordered in '98 slaying of Army pilot

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor has set a tentative date of March 30 for the retrial of two Wai'anae Coast youths in connection with the 1998 fatal shooting of Army helicopter pilot John Latchum Jr. at the Wai'anae Army Recreation Center.

Bryson Jose, who was 20 when Latchum was shot, and Roberto Miguel, who was 17, were found guilty of felony murder in December 2000 and sentenced to life without parole.

But a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco voted 2-1 in July that Gillmor made a mistake when she stopped Public Defender Peter Wolff from suggesting to the federal jury during his closing argument that another youth may have fired the bullet that killed Latchum.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Johnson said the three-judge appeals court panel turned down a request to reconsider its earlier ruling in the case. Johnson said that Latchum's widow, Wendy Latchum, has agreed to return to Hawai'i to testify at the new trial, if necessary.

A third man originally charged with murder, Keala Leong, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped the murder charge. Leong was sentenced to 10 years.

Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.