Thief’s death was
accelerated by ice
Crystal meth is found in the blood
of a man confronted at a farm
A man shot by a Kahuku farmer last month had a level of methamphetamine in his blood that "very likely" hastened his death, medical experts say.
William Goodhue, Honolulu first deputy medical examiner, testified yesterday in Honolulu District Court at the preliminary hearing of Khamxath Baccam Jr., 48, accused of shooting Marcelino Pacheco Jr., 38. Pacheco's body was discovered Sept. 7 along a private road in Malaekahana Valley, where Baccam farmed on a nearby lot.
According to Goodhue, Pacheco suffered seven buckshot wounds to the front of his left and right legs. The cause of death was a tear to his left femoral artery -- the major blood vessel supplying blood to the leg -- which resulted in his bleeding to death in a "matter of a few minutes."
Autopsy results showed Pacheco had 0.31 grams per liter of methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death and a blood-alcohol level of 0.066 percent.
While the amount of methamphetamine in Pacheco's system was not toxic, the increase in his heart rate from the methamphetamine would have increased the rate of blood loss through the torn femoral artery, Goodhue said.
Without highly technical emergency medical assistance available immediately, it would have been "highly unlikely" that Pacheco could have been saved, Goodhue testified. Kahuku Hospital was some three miles away.
Goodhue said Pacheco's buckshot injuries were confined to the front of his legs and went from front to back. Earlier media reports indicated Pacheco was shot in the center of his back and possibly while he was fleeing.
Police homicide Detective Cliff Rubio said Pacheco was still wearing his backpack when his body was found. A search of the backpack contained items including latex gloves, four screwdrivers and a bolt cutter -- items that could be used to commit a theft or break-in into a car, Rubio said.
Police said that Pacheco had previously been suspected of stealing produce and farm equipment in the area. Baccam had told police that he saw someone running down the dirt road near his property while working late Sept. 7 and followed the person in his van. He came across a sack on the road that contained some of his property and confronted the individual. Baccam allegedly told police that he fired his shotgun because he was scared.
Deputy Prosecutor Barry Kemp said Baccam turned himself in to Wahiawa police the next day and told them he shot and killed someone with a shotgun. "Clearly we have a case of murder by commission," Kemp said.
District Judge Peter Stone said there was enough evidence to send Baccam's case to Circuit Court for trial on charges of second-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of a separate felony. Baccam will be arraigned Oct. 25. He remains free on a $25,000 bond.
Outside the courtroom, defense attorney Todd Eddins said Baccam, the father of three, was only trying to protect himself.
