Murder suspect’s release
challenged

The defendant, free on bail, has
been charged with driving drunk

Prosecutors have filed a motion to revoke bail for a defendant in an upcoming murder trial after he was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol yesterday morning.

Donny Lee Hiramoto, 33, was pulled over by police in Kailua for allegedly operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant near Kailua Road and Hoolai Street at 2:55 a.m. Police said Hiramoto refused to take a breathalyzer test and was immediately charged.

A hearing on the motion is set for Friday before Judge Steven Alm.

Hiramoto has been free on $175,000 bail after he was arrested and charged in January in the murder of Makiki resident Robert Lee. On Dec. 22, Lee's wife said she found her husband on the ground near the left front wheel of their truck after coming outside to investigate a loud "thud" she had heard moments before.

Hiramoto was seen on video surveillance in the carport of Lee's Pensacola Street building at about the time Lee was shot. He was later seen running from the direction of the carport, according to a police affidavit.

A friend of Lee's testified during a District Court hearing earlier this year that Hiramoto had owed the victim money in the past, most recently about $8,000. The friend, James Faria, said he had met Lee about five years ago, and both were involved in sports gambling.

Hiramoto spoke with police on Dec. 29 and admitted he had talked to Lee on his cellular phone on the day of the killing and that he had agreed to meet with him. However, Hiramoto said he had no intention of meeting with Lee because he did not have the money to pay him, and instead went Christmas shopping in Aiea.