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Kalihi man gets
20 years, apologizes for
shooting death

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By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

A 19-year-old Kalihi man was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for recklessly causing the death of another man on New Year's Eve 1999 in Kapalama.

Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario also ordered Rodrigo Ababa to serve a mandatory 10 years for his use of a firearm in the shooting that killed 22-year-old Richard Tambua.

Under an agreement, Ababa pleaded guilty yesterday to a lesser charge of manslaughter after admitting he shot a gun into the air that night, but said his cousin Harvey Ababa also shot in the air.

"The open question is who shot the fatal shot," said Myles Breiner, attorney for Rodrigo Ababa.

Ababa apologized to the victim's family, expressing remorse for Tambua's death. He said since the shooting, he has been thinking about his actions that night and how they have affected his life and everyone around him. He said he is willing to testify against his cousin, Harvey, who also was charged in Tambua's slaying.

The cousins were part of a group that was drinking and smoking "ice" and marijuana that night and shooting off fireworks and guns in the air to celebrate the new year, when they approached another group of men after learning they had been challenged to fight.

During the confrontation, Rodrigo Ababa fired a gun into the air. After it jammed, Harvey Ababa allegedly took the gun, which belonged to him, cleared the jam and began shooting.

Harvey Ababa's trial has been delayed while the state appeals a Circuit Court judge's decision to suppress certain statements he made.