Gunman gets life in prison
for shooting in Hawaii Kai

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By Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.com

A state judge sentenced a 40-year-old man to life in prison without parole yesterday for firing 100 rounds at police from the balcony of his Hawaii Kai apartment in 2000.

A jury convicted Peter Takeda of first-degree attempted murder and firearms offenses last October.

A year earlier, on Aug. 7, 2000, Takeda holed up in his condominium for five hours and used two handguns to shoot at police. He later said he thought they were assassins.

Takeda was the only person injured, grazed by a police sharpshooter's bullet, which ended the standoff.

"In this case, no one was harmed. No one even received a scratch," deputy public defender Todd Eddins said. "Contrast that to the (Byran) Uyesugi case where seven individuals were killed."

Police testified bullets whistled overhead, narrowly missing them.

Deputy Prosecutor Lucianne Khalaf reminded the court that Takeda opened his front door and shot into a neighboring apartment, where bullets barely missed a young boy and others.

For that, Takeda had pleaded guilty to three counts of reckless endangerment.

Eddins said the timing of the trial in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11 didn't help his client.

"This was a time when law enforcement personnel were cloaked with the halo of purity ... and contributed to a faulty decision," Eddins said.

He said Takeda had taken too much medication for back pain and was delusional that day, thinking his estranged wife had hired assassins to kill him.

Takeda told the court he believes "the jury botched its truth-detecting function" in reaching its verdict.

"I'm truly sorry for my actions," Takeda told the court. He said he had no idea the shots from inside the condominium would endanger any neighbors. "I was not in the right state of mind," he said.

Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto told Takeda his addiction to crystal methamphetamine created brain damage that led to the tragedy, costing him his family.

Eddins said he will appeal the case on the basis of flawed jury instructions.

Takeda's friend Gerven Sorino, who told police he helped Takeda reload the guns but later denied it, was convicted of being an accomplice to attempted murder and firearms offenses.

Sorino, who is not a U.S. citizen, faces deportation and 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 9.