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Defendant intended to
By Debra Barayuga
kill, prosecutor says
Star-BulletinTomas Quirantes shot Pok Cha Fithian in the face during a robbery in Wahiawa and would have shot her husband if the gun hadn't malfunctioned, prosecutors said today in opening statements in the Circuit Court trial.
Quirantes wasn't trying to warn, scare or threaten them, said Deputy Prosecutor Martin Romualdez. "He was trying to kill them."
Quirantes, 21, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree attempted murder in the botched Jan. 8, 1999 robbery at California Market in Wahiawa.
There's no dispute that Quirantes robbed the store that day, said Deputy Public Defender Ed Harada. But he didn't intend to shoot Pok Cha Fithian, then 46, and her husband Paul, then 53.
The gun went off accidentally when he struggled with Paul Fithian over control of the firearm, Harada continued. Because Fithian wouldn't let go, Quirantes pointed the gun at his shoulder as a last resort, and fired, Harada said. But the gun jammed, twice.
Quirantes is the only one of the four suspects to go to trial. Two other codefendants, Roland Ragasa and Damien Kaahu, are expected to testify for the prosecution in this case. The fourth, Farrington Governor Santos, committed suicide in prison nearly a month after the incident.
Pok Cha Fithian suffered life-threatening injuries in the shooting, but survived and is expected to testify against Quirantes when the trial resumes Monday.
