StarBulletin.com

Witness says suspect also shot at him


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POSTED: Monday, August 03, 2009

A 33-year-old man charged yesterday in the fatal shooting of a Honolulu man on Friday also shot at a witness before fleeing, court documents said.

Phillip Dejesus Deleon was charged at 1:40 p.m. yesterday with second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, reckless endangering and three firearm offenses. He was being held in lieu of $2 million bail.

Authorities said Shawn Powell, 35, died Friday of massive blood loss from a gunshot wound in his heart. Police were investigating if the shooting had stemmed from an earlier confrontation at another bar.

If convicted of first-degree attempted murder, Deleon faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. He is scheduled to appear in District Court this morning.

Police said Deleon shot Powell once in the chest in the parking lot of Seoul Karaoke nightclub at 4:19 a.m.

; According to court documents, officers found Powell lying on the ground, surrounded by three men who told police their friend had been shot.

One of the men, Justin Gamboa, told a detective the group was standing in the parking lot at 815 Keeaumoku St. when he saw Deleon come from a sedan on the mauka side of the lot, the documents said.

Deleon fired three rounds into the ground, then approached Powell before shooting him the chest, knocking him backward, Gamboa said.

Jermaine Beaudoin, another witness, said Deleon fired about three rounds either into the air or into the ground before approaching Powell.

Gamboa told police that as he ran away, he saw Deleon raise his arm and fire his gun at him, shattering the rear window of his Lincoln Navigator.

The other witnesses said Deleon fired several more rounds before driving off in his car, the documents said.

Police found five 9 mm bullet casings at the scene, the documents said.

Responding to a tip, police found Deleon at 9:50 p.m. Friday at Honolulu Airport as he was trying to board a Delta Airlines flight to Salt Lake City.

Deleon showed police his Hawaii driver's license before his arrest.

While he does not have a criminal record in Hawaii, Deleon has several arrests in Washington state.

Criminal records there show one felony conviction for attempting to elude officers in May 2005 and five misdemeanors dating back to 1994 that include possession of stolen property, assault, violating a no-contact order and driving under the influence.