Newswatch
By Star-Bulletin Staff
Thursday, October 3, 1996
"We really don't have anything to gauge it by," said Mormonette Miyasaki, sister of murder victim Marc Miyasaki. "But nothing's enough. ... There's nothing appropriate except an eye for an eye."
The Hawaii Paroling Authority will conduct a minimum sentence hearing for Hirano at noon tomorrow at Halawa Correctional Facility.
Hirano, 21, and a second gunman shot and killed Miyasaki, 22, and his friend Theodore "Timmy" Nicolas, 23, shortly before midnight Oct. 8, 1994, in a parking lot of the old Hilo Airport terminal.
Hirano and Shannon Rodrigues targeted the two victims for a random robbery after spending the night drinking and taking drugs.
Attorney John Goemans says the appointment violates the Hawaii Constitution.
He noted that earlier this year Cayetano nominated Pai for the PUC but withdrew the nomination before Pai could undergo Senate confirmation hearings. That made Pai ineligible for the interim appointment because he didn't receive Senate approval, Goemans said.
"The effect of this appointment is that any action taken by the PUC with an unqualified board member is void," Goemans added. "In fact, all ongoing matters in which Mr. Pai has participated are subject to challenge."
A resident at 3224 Monsarrat Ave. was sleeping when the two men grabbed him, bound him with some cloth and searched the home for valuables for about an hour before fleeing, police said.
The resident was not injured.
No weapon was seen.
Police are processing fingerprints and are trying to determine what was taken in the robbery.
The 37-year-old maximum security inmate suffered cuts to his left hand, left ankle and right foot in his foiled attempt yesterday, police said.
The inmate was among a group of inmates in the center's recreation yard about 8:30 a.m. when he apparently scrambled over two fences and onto the rooftop of Module 1, officials said.
<P>He ran across two more rooftops onto Module 17 and jumped to the ground. Corrections officers found him hiding among some empty cardboard boxes.
He faces grand jury action for the attempted escape, police said.
The inmate was being held at the prison after he failed to return to the Laumaka Work Furlough Center on Sept. 23, police said.
- Oahu man booked on suspicion of robbery, narcotics violations
- Maui traffic victim identified as 39-year-old Lahaina man