Maui man will be tried in attempted murder
WAILUKU » A Maui man will face trial for first-degree attempted murder and 17 other charges in a gunfire spree that resulted in wounding one man and a police standoff.
Mark A. Martins, 53, is scheduled to be arraigned May 22 in Maui Circuit Court.
Judge Kelsey Kawano determined yesterday that probable cause was sufficient to have Martins stand trial.
Saying the defendant's behavior was "horrific and totally unpredictable," Kawano agreed with the prosecution that Martins should be incarcerated without bail.
"There's no question he constitutes a serious danger," Kawano said.
Police Detective John Kahoohanohano said that according to a police interview with Martins, the conflict stemmed from problems with his landlord, including illegal electrical wiring of his dwelling, and the refusal by the landlord's son, Francis "Randy" Randall, to move his van during a barbecue on the night of May 2.
Deputy Prosecutor Robert Rivera said there were 58 spent shells from a semiautomatic 9-mm handgun, the weapon used to wound Randall.
Rivera said Martins was a convicted felon and violated the law by having a firearm.
If convicted of first-degree attempted murder, Martins could face life in prison without parole.
Randall, 43, who received a wound to the left elbow and an abrasion to the right inner thigh, has said that Martins pointed the weapon at his van and then at him, Kahoohanohano said.
Randall, who remains in pain and under medication, was transferred Thursday from Wilcox Memorial Hospital on Kauai to Maui Memorial Medical Center, Kahoohanohano said. He said the men who were at the barbecue remain fearful for their lives.
Under cross-examination from court-appointed defense attorney Kirstin Hamman, Kahoohanohano said Martins seemed surprised that someone had been wounded and said he had fired at the van and at their feet.
"He told me he shot at their feet to scare them," Kahoohanohano said.
