An Oahu jury returned a guilty verdict Friday for second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a homeless man in a makeshift structure under the H-1 freeway near Honolulu Airport.
Herwin Magbulos, 26, will receive life in prison with the possibility of parole when he is sentenced by Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario in October.
The jury deliberated for about an hour before convicting Magbulos of murder in the stabbing death of 59-year-old Darryle Wong on May 4, 2013.
Magbulos testified that he went to the homeless encampment at about midnight for "ice" and gave $30 to Wong for drugs. He was still waiting for them hours later.
He said he was sitting on a cooler inside Wong’s makeshift structure when he asked Wong for the drugs.
That"s when Wong grabbed a piece of wood and swung it at Magbulos, striking his left arm, he said.
Magbulos said he struggled with Wong, who tried to choke him on the ground. When Wong went to get the piece of wood again, Magbulos grabbed a large knife on the ground and remembered he had a smaller knife he had brought for protection.
He said he raised both knives to scare off Wong, but Wong came at him with the wood. Magbulos demonstrated for the jury how he stabbed Wong in a one-two combination to defend himself.
Deputy Prosecutor Kaina Awong said Wong sustained a 3.5-inch-deep incision in the abdomen and a 7-inch-deep incision in the back. He said a third man who was also in the makeshift structure saw Magbulos stab Wong in the back after he curled up from the first stab wound.
Awong argued that Magbulos could have easily outrun or gone around Wong, who was a drug user with diabetes and other health problems.
In his opening statements, Awong said Magbulos went to the homeless encampment to kill Wong and had told Wong’s neighbor before the stabbing that he had a problem with someone and was going to kill that person.
When the neighbor asked Magbulos what he had done, Awong said Magbulos responded with an expletive and said, "Let him die."
