Deedy’s friend says he was ‘severely beaten’ before shooting
State Department special agent Christopher Deedy’s former college roommate testified this morning that he was slugged by Kollin Elderts and beaten by him and another man moments before Elderts was fatally shot at a McDonald’s Waikiki restaurant.
Adam Gutowski, 29, a Waikiki resident, testified he tried to stop Elderts from approaching Deedy when Elderts punched him in the head in the left temple area. Gutowski said he then fell backwards toward an exit door as Elderts’ friend Shane Medeiros got on top of him.
Watching the video images from the McDonald’s surveillance video, Gutowski said he was being “severely beaten” by the two men. Moments later, Deedy fatally shot Elderts. Deedy, 29, is charged with murdering Elderts in the shooting at about 2:45 a.m. Nov. 5, 2011 at the McDonald’s Kuhio Avenue restaurant.
Deedy, an Arlington, Va., resident, was here to provide security for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference.
The prosecution is alleging Deedy was driven by alcohol and inexperience in shooting the unarmed Elderts. Deedy’s defense is that he acted as a law enforcement officer in trying to try to defuse the situation and fired in self defense.
Gutowski, who attended Tulane University with Deedy, was taking the agent around town prior to going to McDonald’s. He testified that Deedy had ordered five beers at five Chinatown and Waikiki bars, but said the alcohol didn’t seem to influence Deedy’s behavior. “He was very much in control of himself,” Gutowski said.
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