The State Department special agent accused of killing a 23-year-old Kailua man after an early morning argument in Waikiki pleaded not guilty Monday morning, and his trial in Circuit Court was scheduled for the week of Jan. 23.
Christopher Deedy, 27, of Arlington, Va., was allowed to remain free on $250,000 bail. He and his wife, Stephanie, sat in the first row of the third-floor courtroom but did not say anything in court, nor did they talk to the media.
Deedy is accused of fatally shooting Kollin K. Elderts in the chest on Nov. 5 at the Kuhio Avenue McDonald’s after an argument.
Deedy’s attorney, Brook Hart, asked Circuit Judge Richard Perkins for a 90-day continuance for the trial date because of a scheduling conflict. But Perkins told Hart to make his appeal to Circuit Judge Karen Ahn, who will be hearing the case.
Michael Green, who represents Elderts’ family and attended Monday’s hearing, said that he was there because he had promised the family that he would be present each time Deedy made a court appearance.
Green said he has served Hart and Deedy with a notice of the family’s lawsuit against Deedy and that he also plans another civil suit in federal court because he believes Deedy was on duty when the shooting occurred. Deedy was in Hawaii as a member of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security force to help with security for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering, which began three days after the shooting.
The State Department has placed Deedy on administrative leave.
Green also discounted the findings of the medical examiner, who found trace amounts of marijuana and cocaine as well as a 0.12 blood-alcohol level in Elderts.
“Whatever someone believes Deedy did,” Green said, “I don’t care if you have alcohol, a trace amount of cocaine or marijuana; that’s not grounds to shoot and kill anybody.”
Green added that if Deedy believes he was justified in shooting Elderts, “that will come out in court, but that doesn’t give you the license to kill somebody.”
Hart has already said that Deedy acted in self-defense and “believes he acted appropriately in order to protect others as well as himself.”
An Oahu grand jury indicted Deedy Wednesday on charges of second-degree murder and using a firearm to commit a crime.
Green has said Deedy kicked Elderts in the chest, and Elderts responded by striking Deedy. The two men started wrestling, and it was during the struggle that Deedy took out his gun and shot Elderts, Green said.
If convicted on the charge of second-degree murder, Deedy faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Two protesters, who appeared at Deedy’s Thursday District Court hearing, also were at Monday morning’s hearing. One held a sign saying “Justice for Kollin Elderts” in the courthouse hallway.
