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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, October 2, 2006

Man faces 10 years probation in shooting

Advertiser Staff

Cuizon

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HILO, Hawai'i — A Big Island man who allegedly fired three blasts from a shotgun into a Volcano-area home and severely injured the man who lived there has been released after serving a year in jail.

Kanikahekili K. Cuizon, 23, was originally charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault and two firearms offenses, but Cuizon instead pleaded no contest in April to a single charge of attempted manslaughter.

The attempted manslaughter charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, but the plea agreement specifies Cuizon will instead receive 10 years probation when he is sentenced on Oct. 20, said Brian De Lima, who is Cuizon's lawyer.

De Lima said Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara has committed to following the plea agreement, which also specifies Cuizon must serve a year in jail as a condition of his probation.

Under an agreement between the defense and the prosecution in the case, Cuizon was released from Hawai'i Community Correctional Center in July because he had already spent a year in jail waiting for his case to be resolved, according to court records.

Cuizon was charged in connection with the shooting of Calin Miller, 51, at the Mauna Loa Estates subdivision shortly before 12:45 a.m. on July 16, 2005. Police were called to Miller's home and found him inside with multiple gunshot wounds, police said.

According to court records, two men, ages 27 and 28, told police they went to the Mauna Loa Estates home with Cuizon, and told authorities Cuizon brought a shotgun with him. The two men told police Cuizon then fired three blasts into Miller's home, according to court records.

According to police reports, the men involved said the shooting took place as Cuizon was "attempting to assist" a 51-year-old woman retrieve her clothes from the home.

Police arrested the other men and the woman in connection with the shooting, but they were later released without charges.

Miller's injuries from the shooting included a collapsed lung and a severed artery in his left arm, according to court records.

Police opposed a request last year that Cuizon be released on bail after the shooting, arguing that there was "a great risk of danger to the victim and the community in this case."

The shotgun used in the attack was never recovered, and Miller's neighbors were "afraid of retaliation because they are witnesses in the case," according to court records.

Miller himself was "terrified and fears for his life should the defendant be released," according to court records.

De Lima said the plea agreement was reached after he filed notice that Cuizon had an alibi because he was at home in Kea'au the night of the shooting.

De Lima said Miller never identified Cuizon as the gunman, and said the two men who said Cuizon fired the shots made contradictory statements about the case to police.

After De Lima discussed the case with prosecutors, Cuizon agreed to plead no contest to the attempted manslaughter charge, De Lima said.