Newswatch
Lance Cpl. William Baer, 20, today was to plead guilty under an agreement to second-degree murder in the May 7 execution-style shooting of Kaneohe Marine Lance Cpl. Juan Guerrero.
Baer is the only one of four Marine defendants to plead guilty to the lesser charge of unpremeditated murder. Marine Corps Base Hawaii spokesman Gunnery Sgt. Ron Appling said the crime carries a maximum sentence of life but no minimum sentence under military justice.
Last month, two other Marines - Lance Cpls. Michael Pereira and Darryl Antle, both 22 - pleaded guilty to first-degree, or premeditated murder, and were sentenced to the maximum term of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole in 10 years.
On Jan. 22, a fourth Marine, Lance Cpl. Alejandro Soto, 22, will plead guilty to first-degree murder, said his attorney, Sam King Jr.
King speculated that Baer was able to plead guilty to a lesser offense because "he cooperated early and often. The government saw him (Baer) as one of the least participants."
Baer's attorney Howard Luke would not comment on the plea agreements.
In exchange for the pleas, the three defendants were not charged with a capital offense, thereby eliminating the possibility of execution under military justice.
The murder of the 20-year-old Guerrero took place in a remote area along Nuuanu Pali Drive. Former Honolulu prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro handed over the case last June to the U.S. military, which allows execution for capital offenses.
Kaneshiro, a capital punishment advocate, said he turned over the case to the military because it had the "ultimate penalty for the ultimate crime." Hawaii abolished the death sentence in 1957.
Luke would not comment on evidence in the case, but said he was concerned about the earlier focus on capital punishment.
"My concern from the beginning in this case was dealing with the prejudicial statements about the offense and the penalty that was discussed by government sources," Luke said yesterday.
Baer chose to have a civilian attorney defend him at his own expense instead of relying on military attorneys at no cost to Baer.
"The team was expecting the state to come in with a formal offer," said Jan Turner, HSTA state negotiations chairwoman.
But talks are expected to continue on an on-call basis, she added. "The state is expected to bring a formal offer to the table within the next few days," she said.
HSTA continues to implement plans for a strike vote, Turner said. It was announced last weekend that the state's 11,800 public school teachers would take a strike vote Feb. 6.
Teachers have worked without a contract since June 1995.
At 11:14 p.m. yesterday, a car went off Kamehameha Highway between Kukuna and Hauula Homestead Road and struck a kamani nut tree, Kahuku police said.
The lone female occupant, a 17-year-old Hauula girl, died at the scene.
Police said the girl was not wearing a seat belt. Speed may have contributed to the crash, which destroyed the front half of the car, investigators said.
The death was the sixth traffic fatality on Oahu this year.
In Kapolei, just after 5 p.m., a car driven by a 31-year-old man struck a 23-
month-old child in the driveway at 91-1049 Hoea St.
The child was taken to St. Francis-West Hospital and later flown to Queen's Hospital.
The East Manoa Road woman is in critical but stable condition at Kuakini Hospital, police said. But because of her age, her injuries are life-threatening, police said.
She is expected to undergo further tests.
The woman was walking with a female friend Ewa on South Beretania Street about 9:10 p.m. when a man ran up and grabbed her purse, police said.
The woman fell to the sidewalk, and the man fled through the parking lot of the Burger King restaurant. He was described as in his 30s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 170 pounds and wearing a rust-colored shirt and shorts.
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