Ford Kanehira
Xerox victim
Kanehira laid to rest
Family, friends and co-workers
Bail revoked for Uyesugi
recall 'boyish' Ford Kanehira,
41, as a devoted family manBy Lori Tighe
Star-BulletinFamily members of Xerox victim Ford Kanehira had difficulty finding a recent photo of him to give the media because "he was always the photographer," said his wife, Lorna.
Kanehira, 41, had been content focusing on his family.
He was the fifth victim to be laid to rest after the Nov. 2 killing spree in the Xerox building on Nimitz Highway.
An estimated 800 family, friends and co-workers filled Central Union Church on Beretania Street yesterday evening to mourn him and to pay tribute to the joy he brought them.
He worked 19 years at Xerox and left behind a 5-year-old son, Brice, in addition to his wife.His two sisters spoke, and so did high school friends.
Eric Hamaguchi, who went to Castle High School with Kanehira, said more than a dozen classmates attended the private service. Hamaguchi lost touch with Kanehira since high school 23 years ago and saw him only occasionally around town. But Kanehira was such a dear friend in school, Hamaguchi felt compelled to go to the service.
"He had a good, boyish personality," he said.
Other classmates told stories about Kanehira that brought both laughter and tears.
"They portrayed it more on the lighter side," said Kanehira's cousin, Chester Kanehira. "I thought it was really nice, uplifting."
Kanehira was a fun-loving guy who adored his son.
"It was hard to tell the difference between the father and the son," said Leigh Ann Braley, a soloist who sang "If We Only Have Love."
Soloist and longtime friend of the family Somerset Buchanan also sang "The Wind Beneath My Wings."
Bail revoked
By Debra Barayuga
for Uyesugi
Star-BulletinCircuit Court Judge Richard Perkins today revoked bail for accused gunman Byran Uyesugi and ordered him held without bail, saying the former Xerox copier repairman presents a flight risk and poses a danger to the community.
Uyesugi, indicted in the Nov. 2 murders of his supervisor and six co-workers and the attempted murder of another, was being held in protective custody and isolated from the general population at the Oahu Community Correctional Center in lieu of $7 million bail.
Based on state law, bail can be denied when someone has been charged with a "serious crime" _ defined by statute as including first-degree murder or attempted murder _ crimes with which Uyesugi has been charged, deputy prosecutor Kevin Takata argued today.
A defendant charged with a serious crime punishable by life imprisonment with no possibility of parole is also presumed to be a flight risk. Also, given the charges and allegations against Uyesugi contained in court documents and confidential grand jury transcripts, there is nothing the courts can do to prevent harm to the rest of the community if he is released, Takata said.
Rodney Ching, one of Uyesugi's lawyers, argued against bail revocation, saying Uyesugi has no criminal felony record, has ties to the community and was gainfully employed, and could still very well be. (The Xerox Corp. terminated Uyesugi's employment following his arraignment last week, a company official said.)
"Given the circumstances, $7 million is already the same as no bail," Ching argued.
The $7 million _ earlier reviewed and approved by the court _ is sufficient to ensure Uyesugi's appearance in court, Ching said.
Since the defense failed to rebut the state's contention that a serious flight risk exists and cannot ensure that Uyesugi will appear, Perkins granted the state's motion.
Uyesugi's lawyer Jerel Fonseca earlier pleaded not guilty to all charges on behalf of his client, who appeared via closed-circuit video from prison while three corrections officers waited nearby.
Uyesugi said little during questioning by Perkins, acknowledging that he understood the proceedings and was giving up his right not to be present at the hearing. His lawyers said Uyesugi remains as quiet and reserved as the day he was arrested.
Perkins set Uyesugi's trial for the week of Jan. 18, 2000, but defense lawyers indicated they will seek a continuance.
"We will ask for as much time as we need," Fonseca said after the hearing.
