Murderer’s
sentencing
is delayed

Raymond Augustin, dissatisfied
with his attorney, wins a
continuance to Jan. 10

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

Three years ago, the family of a Wahiawa man watched their brother's accused murderer go free on a technicality.

Today, family members of Larry Basuel, who was slain in July 1994, were disappointed to learn they would have to wait until January for Raymond Augustin to be sentenced for second-degree murder and a firearms charge.

Circuit Judge John Bryant today continued sentencing to Jan. 10 after Augustin, dissatisfied with his court-appointed attorney, requested a new one. Augustin also apologized to Basuel's family members, saying he was sincerely sorry and that he "can't put back what I did."

He faces life in prison with the possibility of parole. He also faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison for using a semiautomatic weapon to shoot Basuel, and there is nothing his attorney can say at sentencing to affect that, argued Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter, who opposed the continuance.

An Oahu jury on Sept. 29 found Augustin guilty after a nine-day trial, his third one on the charge. Bryant ordered him jailed pending sentencing.

The first trial in 1995 never went to a jury. A mistrial was called because discovery materials hadn't been made available.

He was convicted of second-degree murder in the second trial in July 1996, but a judge found juror misconduct and overturned the verdict. Augustin had been free pending the state's appeal.

"Justice delayed was not justice denied in this case," said Van Marter, who was to ask that Augustin serve the terms for murder and the firearms offense consecutively.

The jury's latest verdict validated the 1996 verdict, Van Marter said.

Basuel's family members had expressed frustration with the judicial system after seeing their brother's convicted murderer be allowed to remain free pending the appeal. "We're happy now that Judge Bryant revoked bail and put him in custody Sept. 29," Van Marter said.

The 1996 verdict was overturned after Circuit Judge Richard Perkins ruled that a juror who worked for the state welfare system obtained confidential information on Augustin's welfare records and shared it with other jurors.

Augustin later filed a civil suit claiming his privacy rights had been violated. He lost the case.

The prosecutor's office was concerned that if he had won, it would have had a "chilling" effect on jurors who would fear being sued civilly for their work on a jury, Van Marter said.

The appellate court in November 1998 affirmed Judge Perkins' ruling and returned the case to Circuit Court for a retrial.