Shooting victims
identify suspectsTwo men are formally charged
and a third is sought in the
ongoing murder investigation
Two of the victims in Wednesday's shooting at the Pali Golf Course told officers who shot them, according to police, who were seeking another "dangerous" suspect last night.
Police charged both Rodney V. Joseph, of Waianae, and Ethan Motta, of Hilo, with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree attempted murder. Both were also charged yesterday on several firearm counts.
They are accused of fatally shooting Lepo Utu Taliese and Lawrence "Romilius" Corpuz. Taliese's brother, Tino Sao, was shot and remained in critical condition at the Queen's Medical Center yesterday, according to police spokeswoman Jean Motoyama.
Bail for Joseph and Motta has been set at $1 million. Under Hawaii law, first-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence without parole.
Nixon Maumalanga, who was arrested at the scene Wednesday, is no longer being held in connection with the case, but remains in custody for outstanding traffic warrants, police said. Initially, police had said Maumalanga may have been an intended target and not a shooter.
According to court affidavits released yesterday for Motta and Joseph, police who responded to the shooting asked Sao and Taliese who had shot them.
Sao told an officer that he was shot by Joseph and "Malu," according to an affidavit. The officer was unable to make out Malu's last name, but Motta's middle name is Malu, and he sometimes goes by "Malu Motta," the affidavit said.
Taliese, who later died at Castle Medical Center, told police he had been shot by Joseph and Motta, an affidavit said.
Honolulu police also said yesterday that they are looking for 33-year-old Kevin A. "Pancho" Gonsalves, whom they described as a possible suspect. Police said Gonsalves frequents Waianae, might be armed and should be considered dangerous.
Sources close to the investigation have told the Star-Bulletin that the shooting at the course's parking lot was the result of a turf war between two groups vying to provide security at underground gambling clubs around the state.
Officially, police said yesterday that they are still investigating a motive and could not confirm whether gambling was involved.
The shooting occurred in the course's parking lot just before 1:15 p.m. Wednesday and continued into the clubhouse area and onto the fairway near the first hole. Between 13 and 18 rounds were fired from two weapons, a .22-caliber and a .380-caliber, according to homicide Lt. Bill Kato.
After the shooting, police searched the municipal golf course, brush surrounding the green and neighboring areas by foot and air for the suspects, who were said to have fled in a new, black Ford Taurus.
Officers later found Motta at Honolulu Airport with a ticket for a flight to Hilo. Joseph turned himself in to police Wednesday night.
The getaway car, which Kato said has temporary plates and could be a 2003 or 2004 model, has not been recovered.
Police have said the victims and suspects knew each other, had all attended a funeral earlier that day at Hawaiian Memorial Park and had agreed to meet later in the course's parking lot.
A woman who attended the funeral said the shooting might have been in retaliation for a July 30 incident at a Young Street gambling house. In that case, two men were charged with beating two security guards by allegedly hitting them with bats and chairs and stabbing one of them multiple times.
The woman, who asked not to be named, said she saw the victims and suspects at the Wednesday funeral huddled together talking and called the scene "fishy."
Sao is scheduled to testify Feb. 9 against Nanakuli resident Robert Kaialau III, 33, and 29-year-old Solomana Nakagawa, of Waikele, who are both facing felony assault charges in the Young Street incident, according to Jim Fulton, spokesman for the city prosecutor's office.
Sources have said that the shooting was one of several violent confrontations, including the Young Street case, between the two groups.
Records show both Motta and Joseph have had prior run-ins with the law.
Joseph, a professional kickboxer, has 12 prior felony convictions, two for burglary and 10 for terroristic threatening.
Big Island court records show Motta was charged with two gambling offenses in 1998 in connection with some high-stakes craps games. Motta was indicted in 2002 for 10 alleged instances of gambling in November and December 2000. Both cases were dropped.
Anyone with information on the case or on Gonsalves' whereabouts is asked to call the police Criminal Investigation Division at 529-3115 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.