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Arakawa will Clyde Arakawa will not take the witness stand in his own defense, his attorney Michael Ostendorp said this morning.
not take stand
But the former policeman could
be allowed to testify after the
last witness, the judge saysBy Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.com"I don't believe they have proven their case," Ostendorp said of the prosecution. "There's no reason for him to get up and testify. It's just dragging on."
The prosecution began presenting rebuttal witnesses this morning in the Clyde Arakawa manslaughter trial.
However, Circuit Judge Karen Ahn said Arakawa could be allowed to testify after the last witness testifies in the case.
Ostendorp said he still wants to call one defense witness before resting his case. He said he's still trying to get in touch with a man who lives near the crash site.
Arakawa is accused of being drunk, speeding and running a red light when his white Thunderbird hit a Honda Civic driven by 19-year-old Dana Ambrose, killing her on Oct. 7, 2000.
In testimony today, Ostendorp called two paramedics who responded to the crash.
Emergency medical technician Kyle Nitahara said Arakawa had "a steady gait. He wasn't drifting to one side or the other." He said Arakawa's skin color appeared normal and that Arakawa answered all his questions appropriately as to name, date and place.
Nitahara said he smelled no odor of alcohol on Arakawa and that the former police officer appeared alert and oriented on the night of the accident.
Paramedic Derrick Yonezawa, who attended to Ambrose, said he was not sure if she had been wearing a seat belt.
Yesterday, defense expert Mark Hagadone told the jury he believed Arakawa's blood alcohol level was within the legal limit when Arakawa's car crashed into Dana Ambrose's Honda Civic, and that Arakawa's experienced liver eliminated alcohol fast.
The forensic chemist and toxicologist estimated Arakawa's blood alcohol concentration at .073 at the time of the accident, below the .08 legal limit, when the accident occurred between 11:45 and 11:50 p.m. on Oct. 7, 2000.
"I believe it's more likely for Mr. Arakawa to have a liver that is commonly associated with a liver that metabolizes alcohol faster than slower," he said.
The former police officer, on trial for killing the 19-year-old Ambrose, refused to take sobriety tests the night of the crash.
The state contends Arakawa's blood alcohol concentration was between .15 and .17, about twice the legal limit, at the time of the crash at the intersection of Pali Highway and School Street.
To determine the rate Arakawa's liver eliminated alcohol, Hagadone used a model that most closely matched Arakawa's lean body build.
Hagadone said the elimination rate - how long it takes for the liver to destroy alcohol - varies from person to person.
The prosecution estimated that Arakawa had 11 drinks that night. Hagadone, estimating that Arakawa had one drink every half-hour, calculated Arakawa's blood alcohol level at .09 at 11 p.m., 45 minutes before the accident.
He called the state's expert Marcelline Burns' method of calculating BAC tainted because she used weight and failed to consider body fat, without factoring in the rate the body burns alcohol just by drinking.
In cross-examination, Carlisle asked Hagadone: "How do you get a practiced liver? You do it by drinking, correct?"
He said his estimate of Arakawa's alcohol metabolism rate of .021 falls into Burns' category of chronic, heavy drinkers.