Teen says he was
forced to shootMiti Maugaotega is on trial
for a burglary and shooting
last year
A 17-year-old boy accused of shooting a Punchbowl homeowner in the chest during a botched burglary last June told police that the resident forced him to shoot.
City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said in court yesterday that defendant Miti Maugaotega Jr. told police, "'Cause the guy I shot, he -- he was asking me for shoot 'em."
Maugaotega, who has since turned 18, went on trial yesterday in Circuit Court for second-degree attempted murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, and various firearms and drug offenses. If convicted of attempted murder, Maugaotega faces life imprisonment with parole.
The homeowner, Eric Kawamoto, 43, suffered critical internal injuries when a bullet from a Colt .45 semiautomatic tore through his chest and lodged in his back, but he survived and is expected to testify.
Carlisle has cited the case as an example of how those committing property crimes can turn violent, particularly when they're using crystal methamphetamine.
Maugaotega doesn't dispute he was in Kawamoto's Puowaina Drive home on June 26 when Kawamoto returned home from work or that he was carrying a firearm, said deputy public defender Walter Rodby.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
In Circuit Court yesterday, Prosecutor Peter Carlisle used a computer presentation as part of his opening statement in the trial of Miti Maugaotega Jr., accused of shooting a Punchbowl homeowner during a burglary last year. Shown are pictures of Maugaotega and the gun used in the crime. The 18-year-old is charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, and various firearms and drug offenses.
But the gun didn't have a bullet in the chamber ready to fire because he didn't intend to shoot anyone, Rodby said. "This wasn't supposed to happen," he said.
There was a click when Maugaotega fired the first time. But after chambering a round, Maugaotega pointed the gun at Kawamoto a second time and pulled the trigger, Carlisle said. Kawamoto was standing only a few yards away.
A next-door neighbor who was home at the time heard a muffled sound and glanced out her back window. She was startled to see a man moving in the neighbor's back yard. At the same time, her doorbell rang and she went to the front door to see Kawamoto yelling at her to call 911. Despite being shot, Kawamoto had made his way up a flight of stairs to his front door, around a wall and to the neighbor's door for help.
By the time the neighbor had returned to her front door, Kawamoto was flat on his back on the ground, "a pie pan-sized bloodstain spreading across his chest," Carlisle said.
Arriving police officers surmised that Kawamoto had been shot by an intruder who broke into the home. Drawers and closets were turned inside-out and items strewn about the home. The interior looked as if a cyclone had gone through it, Carlisle said.
Based on the neighbor's description, police put out an all-points bulletin for a young male wearing a white shirt and black pants. He was spotted several times, once beside an abandoned white van.
When arrested, Maugaotega's pockets were bulging with jewelry that was later identified as belonging to the Kawamotos and his wife's mother, who lived with them. When backtracking Maugaotega's route, police also recovered on the Hawaii Baptist campus more jewelry that belonged to the Kawamotos, a CD player and headphones.
They also recovered on the campus a firearm that an officer saw Maugaotega tossing as he ran. That firearm was later matched to the casing found in the Kawamoto home and to the bullet removed from Kawamoto's back, Carlisle said.
At the white van, police recovered a white sleeveless T-shirt, a watch, more jewelry, loose change, a fanny pack and two pipes, one used for smoking "ice" with residue still inside.
Maugaotega, who was taken to the hospital because he complained of shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, told police who were guarding him, "The guy forced me to shoot him."
The trial is expected to resume Monday.
Maugaotega also faces trial on 12 charges stemming from four home burglaries between May 23 and June 23.
