DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Shane Mark turned to look at jurors yesterday as they filed out of the courtroom for a recess. He was flanked by deputy public defenders Teri Marshall, left, and Debra Loy. Mark is accused of killing police officer Glen Gaspar at an ice cream shop in Kapolei.
Accused police shooter
pleads self-defenseShane Mark feared for
the lives of loved ones,
his attorney argues
A 29-year-old man accused of fatally shooting police officer Glen Gaspar didn't intend to kill anyone, his attorney says.
Trial began yesterday in Circuit Court for Shane Mark, accused of first-degree murder for firing three shots into 12-year Honolulu Police Department veteran Gaspar on March 4 and first-degree attempted murder for pointing his gun at another officer.
Both officers were trying to arrest Mark at the Kapolei Baskin-Robbins store in connection with a Feb. 1 shooting in Moanalua. In that incident, Mark is charged with two counts of second-degree attempted murder and two firearms offenses.
Deputy Public Defender Debra Loy said Mark was fighting for his life on both occasions and in Kapolei was not only trying to protect himself, but his pregnant girlfriend, a former girlfriend, his unborn son and his 10-year-old daughter.
But Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter said Mark was a fugitive who armed himself and decided he wasn't going to be arrested.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Gaspar's father, Gilbert Gaspar Sr., left, mother Evangeline Gaspar and brother Greig Gaspar, with his hand over his face, were among the court observers yesterday.
Police had been looking for Mark since Feb. 1, when he allegedly shot at two men, hitting one, during an argument over an inoperable video surveillance camera he had purchased from a friend.
Since that shooting, a deep fear was growing inside Mark after hearing repeatedly that threats had been made on his life and that of his girlfriend, Leslie Martin, and that the two men were out to get them, Loy said. "Shane Mark figured he would have to fight for his life," she said.
On March 4, when two unknown men grabbed him by the arms in the Kapolei Baskin-Robbins, where he was meeting with a former girlfriend and their daughter, Shansy, Mark believed they were going to kidnap, torture and kill him, Loy said.
He also feared Shansy, who was visiting from the mainland and who he hadn't seen in eight years, and Martin, who had accompanied him into the store, would be harmed. The men wore no uniforms and did not identify themselves or show identification, said Loy.
"There was no time to analyze who they were -- he was in an instantaneous fight for his life," Loy said, and so Mark pulled out his gun and fired.
Because he was so close to Gaspar, he fired into the officer's chest, Loy said. "This is a case of self-defense and defense of others," Loy said. "He intended to kill no one and was fighting for his life."
During opening statements, Van Marter said police were not expecting Mark to be armed, based on assurances by Shansy's mother, Melissa Sennett, that he would not bring a gun to meet his daughter in a public place.
Gaspar, followed by Officer Calvin Sung, both in aloha shirts because they were part of a plainclothes detail, entered the Baskin-Robbins after seeing a man resembling Mark enter the store shortly before 1 p.m.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Yesterday's proceedings included this image from a videotape showing police officers trying to prevent Shane Mark from reaching for a gun in his pocket at Baskin-Robbins. Mark had gone there to meet his daughter, 10, shown at bottom left.
Gaspar and Sung displayed their badges, Van Marter said. When Gaspar asked Mark if he could talk to him, Mark allegedly told him to "shut up" and reached into his right front pocket, Van Marter said.
The officers reached for his arm to stop him. But Mark pushed Gaspar back into an ice cream case so hard that both officers lost their grip on Mark, Van Marter said.
As the officers tried to regain control of Mark, a third officer came to their aid. The officers repeatedly identified themselves and Gaspar said, "police, police," Van Marter said.
Realizing he was cornered, Mark fired twice into Gaspar's chest, the bullets lodging next to his spine, Van Marter said. The bullets punctured Gaspar's liver, stomach and pancreas and pierced his heart and diaphragm, Van Marter said. A third shot struck Gaspar's two fingers on his left hand.
Gaspar's last words to his fellow officers were, "I'm shot."
After shooting Gaspar, Mark pointed the gun at Sung, who bit down hard on Mark's shoulder blade, Van Marter said. Mark also aimed the gun at a third officer. Two more officers joined the struggle and they all subdued Mark.
Gaspar, 38, died about an hour later at St. Francis West Hospital, Van Marter said.
Video images of the moments leading up to Gaspar getting shot were shown to the jury yesterday. The images were taken by Sennett's boyfriend who had accompanied them to Baskin-Robbins to record Mark's visit with his daughter.
One image shows Shansy, her head resting on a table, and a below-the-waist shot of Mark standing behind her with his right hand near his right front pocket, where officers suspected he had a weapon.
Another below-the-shoulder shot shows Gaspar and Sung trying to grab Mark's right hand.
Gaspar family members, including Gaspar's parents, Gilbert Sr. and Evangeline Gaspar, and brother, Greig Gaspar, attended yesterday's openings.
In a written statement, Greig Gaspar said the family hopes for a fair and speedy trial and that Mark be found guilty of first-degree murder and spend the rest of his life behind bars.
If convicted of first-degree murder or first-degree attempted murder, Mark faces life in prison without parole.
