Father determined
to keep his son’s
killer behind bars

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

The father of a man the state contends was killed "execution-style" on an isolated Waipahu road two years ago says he will do everything he can to ensure his son's murderer stays behind bars.

Clyde Bill, father of La-huh-bate-soot, was stoic yesterday as a judge sentenced James Kane III, 23, to life with the possibility of parole and mandatory minimum of 15 years for use of a firearm in the commission of the crime.

He must also serve 10 years each for two other firearms offenses, to be served concurrently. Restitution will be discussed at a future hearing.

Judge Dexter Del Rosario ordered Kane to serve the sentence consecutively with the five-year term he is currently serving for violating probation.

Two days before the killing, Kane had just been released on five years probation after serving a one-year term for robbing a cab driver.

"While clearly the defendant can't live more than one life term, this is an indication that Kane should remain in prison for as long as possible," Del Rosario said.

Nelson Goo, Kane's attorney, had asked that the court sentence his client to no more than a mandatory minimum of 10 years for use of a firearm. While his client has a "dark side," life had never given him a fair shake, Goo said.

Kane is appealing his case.

Outside the courtroom, Bill choked back his emotions as he described what it's like to lose a beloved son. "It tears you up," he said.

The sentence finally gives his family some closure and allows them to move on with their lives, he said.

But family members will be back when Kane goes before the parole board. The parole board will decide exactly how much time Kane will have to serve before he is released on parole. "The longer he's in prison, the better off it will be for everybody," Bill said.

Bill, La-huh-bate-soot's brothers and friends flew from Washington state to see the face of the man convicted of killing their brother. La-huh-bate-soot, 25, was a member of the Pullayup tribe in Tacoma.

Before he was sentenced, Kane turned to La-huh-bate-soot's brothers and friends and expressed regret for his actions. "From my heart to you guys, I apologize that your brother's gone."

Although he knew they felt much hatred toward him, there was nothing that he could say that can erase what happened, he said. "I wish things didn't happen the way it did."

Earlier, special Prosecutor Mark Bennett called Kane's actions "cold, heartless, premeditated, with no chance of rehabilitation."

He said Kane, up to the end, had maintained the shooting wasn't his but the victim's fault, and that he had acted in self-defense.

Because he was mad at La-huh-bate-soot, Kane took a gun, drove his friend out on an isolated road behind Waipahu High School and executed him with no remorse, Bennett said. "It was nothing short of an execution-style murder."