City prosecutors have asked the court to hold accused cop killer Shane Mark without bail, calling him a danger to the community and a flight risk. Prosecutors request Mark
to be held without bailBy Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.comMark, 28, was indicted by an Oahu grand jury Thursday on a first-degree murder charge from the shooting Tuesday at Kapolei Shopping Center that killed officer Glen Gaspar, and an attempted-murder charge for allegedly pointing a gun at another officer. The two officers were trying to arrest and subdue Mark, who was wanted for another attempted-murder charge.
Mark is expected to be arraigned on the charges in Circuit Court on Monday.
He was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony and two drug offenses. He is being held in lieu of $5 million bail. If convicted of either first-degree murder or attempted murder, he faces life without parole.
Under state law, bail may be denied when someone is charged with serious crimes, such as murder or attempted murder in the first or second degree, and where the offense is punishable with life without the possibility of parole.
Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter, in his request, said that Mark was carrying a loaded firearm on Tuesday which he allegedly used to shoot Gaspar and pointed at another officer. Mark was prohibited from carrying or possessing firearms because had been previously convicted of felony crimes.
"Based on the nature of the charges, the potential penalty involved and defendant's prior felony convictions, there appears no condition or combination of conditions that will reasonably assure the safety of the community or defendant's appearance when required," Van Marter wrote.
A hearing on the state's request is set for Thursday.
Mark was released from prison nearly four months ago after serving a full five-year term for second-degree burglary, auto theft and car break-in convictions. At the time he was sentenced on those charges, prosecutors had asked the court to double Mark's sentence to 10 years from five, but the request was denied.
Circuit Judge Melvin Soong, who sentenced Mark in March 1998, could not be reached for comment. Court minutes of the sentencing do not indicate the basis for Soong's ruling. But Soong did sentence Mark as a repeat offender to a mandatory minimum of one year and six months.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys cannot say whether Mark would still be in prison if the longer sentence had been imposed.
Van Marter said Thursday that it would have been up to the Hawaii Paroling Authority to decide how long Mark would serve.
Public defender Todd Eddins, who represented Mark at sentencing, said prosecutors at the time entered into a plea agreement that reduced a first-degree burglary charge, punishable by a mandatory 10 years, down to a second-degree burglary, which carries a five-year term.
"The reality of Mark's situation is that the sentencing court on March 30, 1998, noted the prosecution's consent to lop five years from an automatic 10-year jail term," Eddins said. "The court then likely felt it was contradictory for the prosecution to then seek 10-year terms for the five-year offenses."
Jim Fulton, of the Office of Prosecuting Attorney, defended its 1998 position, saying his office had the responsibility to ask for what it feels is an appropriate sentence.
In the burglary case, Mark admitted to intentionally breaking into a North Shore vacation home owned by a Canadian citizen.
"We had a reluctant witness unwilling or unable to return to testify at trial against Shane Mark," Fulton said. "We had to plead it down because it was unlikely he would return to testify."
Kapolei businesses have so far donated more than $19,000 to the Officer Glen Gaspar Memorial Fund. Gaspar memorial fund set up
The fund was established to meet the educational needs of Gaspar's two daughters.
Gaspar, 40, was killed Tuesday while attempting to apprehend an attempted-murder suspect at Kapolei Shopping Center. He was the 37th Honolulu police officer killed in the line of duty since 1903.
Major contributors include:
>> Campbell Estate, $10,000.Monetary contributions can be made at any First Hawaiian Bank branch or mailed to Shelley Lee, First Hawaiian Bank, Corporate Communications, P.O. Box 3200, Honolulu, HI 96847.>> Bank of Hawaii, $2,500.
>> First Hawaiian Bank, $2,500.
>> Pizza Hut/Taco Bell, $1,000.
>> McDonald's, $1,000.
>> Loco Moco, $500.
>> Tasty Korean BBQ, $500.
>> Marketplace at Kapolei, $500.
