DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Tasha Corpuz was emotional yesterday after her family visited and laid flowers at the location by the Pali pro golf shop where her father, Romelius Corpuz Jr., died. Sitting on the bench was Faletolu Taliese-Utu Lauti, Tasha's aunt and sister of shooting victim Lepo Utu Taliese.
Witness to shooting
receives death threatsThreats come as three men
are indicted in connection
with the Pali incident
At least one Pali Golf Course worker who may have seen the fatal shooting of two men last week has been threatened against testifying in the case.
Police confirmed yesterday that someone called the golf course several days ago and threatened a starter's life if the worker testified in the case.
"Since the shooting happened, the golf course has received calls from people indicating whoever testifies will die," said city Deputy Prosecutor Vickie Kapp.
Tom Murata, manager of the city-run Pali Golf Course, declined to comment, deferring to police.
The course, which was temporarily shut down after the shooting to allow police to search for the gunmen, has not seen a drop in play, likely because the victims and alleged shooters were outsiders and not golfers, Murata said.
Yesterday, a Honolulu grand jury named three men in a 14-count indictment in connection with the Jan. 7 shooting that left Lepo Utu Taliese and Romelius Corpuz Jr. dead and seriously injured Corpuz's brother, Tinoimalu "Tino" Sao.
Police say the confrontation resulted from a turf war between two factions vying to provide security at underground gambling houses across the state.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Margie Corpuz, left, wife of shooting victim Romelius Corpuz Jr., hugged sister Faletolu Taliese-Utu Lauti yesterday at the Pali Golf Course.
Two of the suspected gunmen, Rodney V. Joseph of Waianae and Ethan Motta of Hilo, pleaded not guilty Monday in District Court. Both are in custody in lieu of $1 million bail. The third man, Kevin "Pancho" Gonsalves, is wanted by police for questioning but has yet to be found.
Circuit Judge Michael Wilson yesterday also confirmed bail at $1 million, cash only, for each of the defendants and prohibited them from communicating with any witnesses in the case, Kapp said.
Joseph, Motta and Gonsalves were each charged with first-degree murder for intentionally causing the death of more than one person; two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of Taliese and Corpuz; attempted second-degree murder of Sao; six counts of carrying or using a firearm in the shootings; and carrying a firearm without a license.
Joseph, who has 11 felony convictions, is also charged with owning or possessing a firearm after being convicted of certain crimes.
Based on the charges, all three are suspected of shooting the three victims. Police previously said they were seeking Gonsalves for questioning in the shootings, but confirmed yesterday he is one of the suspected shooters.
Family members of the shooting victims laid flowers at the golf course yesterday.
Among others, Faletolu Taliese-Utu Lauti and her sister Margie Corpuz, also the widow of Romelius Corpuz, placed flowers near some trees on the fairway where their brother Lepo Utu Taliese collapsed after being shot in the back.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Margie Corpuz, left, Faletolu Taliese-Utu Lauti and Margie's daughter Tasha visited the spot on the golf course where Lepo Utu Taliese fell after he was shot.
They also left flowers and balloons on a bench outside the pro shop where Romelius Corpuz and his brother Tino Sao sat bleeding profusely.
Lauti said she was surprised how far her brother (Taliese) walked after being shot multiple times in the back and fell onto the fairway near the first tee.
"Where was he running to?" she wondered. "I guess the main road."
Lauti said she spoke with golf course staff who saw her brother run and fall onto the fairway.
"We all have to go sometime; it's just the way they went," she said. "They were chased down like animals."
Lauti said her brother and Corpuz will be buried together on Jan. 31. "We feel it's proper because the brothers-in-law were really close," she said.
After the indictments were handed down, deputy public defender Todd Eddins, who represents Motta, said it's frustrating to the defense that the government presented the case behind closed doors, rather than at a preliminary hearing where the defense can question witnesses.
Eddins called the bail requirement for Motta "excessive," saying it violates bail statutes.
"He is as low a flight a risk as it gets and his lack of criminal record speaks for itself," Eddins said.
He intends to file a motion to remove the "cash only" provision.
Motta, a 1999 University of Hawaii-Hilo graduate and former student body president who majored in political science, has a clean record except for a 1992 misdemeanor conviction for reckless driving, Eddins said.
Motta has been working in the public school system providing mental health services to disadvantaged children, the majority covered by the Felix consent decree, Eddins said.
Defense attorney Michael Green, who represents Joseph, said he has filed a motion to reduce his client's bail and wasn't surprised the state moved to indict.
"It's obvious this is a completely one-sided process until you get a chance to present evidence to show the case is not what the investigation necessarily infers it is," Green said.
When asked about the golf course threats, Green said the only threats he's heard are coming from friends of the victims, "nothing from our side at all."
"We don't even know who the witnesses are," Green said.
Star-Bulletin reporters Leila Fujimori and Rod Antone contributed to this report.
