Teen admits shooting Punchbowl man

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

An 18-year-old man admitted in a hushed courtroom yesterday that he shot a Punchbowl man whose home he was burglarizing but said he never intended to kill him.

Miti Maugaotega said that after he shot Eric Kawamoto in the chest with a .45-caliber pistol, he left him lying on the stair steps, stepped around him while escaping from the house, ran from the area and stopped at a convenience store on Pauoa Road to buy a soda and candy. Kawamoto survived.

Maugaotega said he was in the kitchen of the home on Puowaina Drive when Kawamoto arrived home.

Maugaotega said he shot Kawamoto, 44, because Kawamoto balked at his order to go to the bottom of the three-level home and he thought Kawamoto might try to overpower him and block his escape.

With a blank stare, Maugaotega responded to most of the questions posed by his lawyer, state Deputy Public Defender Walter Rodby, and City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, primarily with single yes or no answers.

Maugaotega is charged with attempted murder, robbery, burglary and a weapons violation in connection with the Kawamoto shooting.

In his opening statement to the jury on Friday, Rodby told the jury the shooting was never supposed to happen and that Maugaotega did not intend to kill Kawamoto.

During a break in the trial yesterday Rodby said he will suggest to the jury during his closing argument tomorrow that Maugaotega may be guilty of the lesser offense of first-degree assault, but not attempted murder.

Conviction on second-degree attempted murder carries a life term with the possibility of parole while a first-degree assault conviction can result in a sentence ranging from probation to 10 years in prison.

During his testimony yesterday, Maugaotega said he had spent the night at his girlfriend's house in the Lanakila area, argued with her the next morning about "cheating on each other" and set off walking down School Street.

He said he decided to burglarize the Kawamoto home because it appeared no one was home and that he intended to take anything of value to "buy stuffs."

Maugaotega said he broke in through a bedroom window and realized Kawamoto had entered the house because he heard him "kicking stuffs around." He said he pointed the gun at Kawamoto and demanded money. Police later recovered the gun in Nu'uanu.

"I hold him up," Maugaotega said. He said he needed the gun to "protect myself from the Kalihi people."

After robbing Kawamoto at gunpoint, Maugaotega said he ordered him to go down the stairs leading to the bedroom area "so I can get away." He said Kawamoto "only went down couple steps" and "he came back up.

"He told me if he went downstairs I would still shoot him and I said, 'What are you talking about?' " Maugaotega said. "He started coming at me telling me shoot him.

"I told him, 'Why you coming so close?' He kept coming. I pulled the trigger, the gun wasn't ready to fire," Maugaotega said. "He started rushing at me. I racked the gun back and fired."

Asked by Rodby why he shot Kawamoto, Maugaotega said: "I wanted to get away." Asked how he felt about the shooting Maugaotega said, "I feel sorry ... about what happened."

In response to questions from Carlisle, Maugaotega admitted that he knew it was wrong to go into the house, that he rummaged through every room, and tried to take everything of value he could. He said he knew he was carrying a .45-caliber handgun with four or five live bullets and knew he had no license to carry a concealed weapon.

He also acknowledged that he brought with him crystal methamphetamine and a pipe, that he moved the gun's safety to the off position after he decided to shoot Kawamoto, that pointing a gun at another person is wrong and that pointing "a live round" at someone is dangerous.

Trauma surgeon Fredrick Yost, who was on duty when Kawamoto was brought to The Queen's Medical Center, said Kawamoto was lucky to have survived being shot by a large caliber bullet.

He said the bullet broke portions of three ribs in the left side of Kawamoto's chest but skidded off to the side around the rib cage instead of penetrating his lung.

Even so, Kawamoto's left lung was so bruised that emergency workers were concerned that the fluid that was building up in his chest cavity could reach a point that it would force his heart to stop beating, the surgeon said.

Yost said Kawamoto's condition improved rapidly after he was attached to a mechanical device to help him breathe.

He said Kawamoto might have died had the crime happened farther away from the hospital or had it taken any longer to get him there.

Both sides rested their case yesterday. The trial before Circuit Judge Marie Milks is expected to conclude tomorrow, following closing arguments by Carlisle and Rodby.

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