Evicted tenant convicted in fatal fire

An Oahu jury found an evicted tenant guilty of manslaughter and arson Wednesday for a 2011 fire in Liliha that killed a 76-year-old man.

The jury also found James Kimo Moses, 46, guilty of two counts of second-degree attempted murder, a felony that carries a life prison term with the possibility of parole.

Tenant Clarence Isobe, a retired commercial fisherman and Marine Corps veteran, died at the Queen’s Medical Center from burns he suffered shortly after midnight on Feb. 2, 2011, at 1909 Liliha St.

Two other tenants suffered second- and third-degree burns. Twenty-two people were in the home when the fire started.

A witness told authorities Moses was "extremely upset" after the resident manager evicted him for allegedly dealing drugs. When police arrested him at a Kakaako homeless camp, they observed singed hair on his left wrist.

During the trial, Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario did not allow the matter of singed hair to be entered as evidence.

Deputy Prosecutor Darrell Wong said, "I’m glad the jury was able to look at the circumstantial evidence and come to an appropriate verdict."

Wong said Moses was upset and wanted to kill the resident manager and one of the tenants whom he believed reported him.

"Combined with his own crumbling relationship with his ex-girlfriend I think brought him to a point of frustration where he took it out on the residents on Liliha Street," Wong said.

Deputy Public Defender Craig Nagamine said he plans to appeal.

"The evidence presented against the defendant in our opinion was heavily suspect," he said.

Nagamine said a lot of evidence presented at trial showed Moses did not set the fire.

He noted Moses’ ex-girlfriend was interviewed by police on Feb. 4, two days after the fire, and never mentioned Moses set the fire. About a month later, she went to the police and told them that he had confessed to her on Feb. 3.

Nagamine added that another witness couldn’t remember what time the fire occurred and gave conflicting statements about whether she had seen Moses at the time of the fire.

In March 2011, Moses was charged with first-degree attempted murder, second-degree manslaughter, first-degree arson and five counts of second-degree attempted murder.

The jury couldn’t reach a verdict on the first-degree attempted-murder charge.

Of the remaining three second-degree attempted murder charges, Moses was found guilty of lesser offenses: second-degree attempted assault and two counts of third-degree attempted assault.

Manslaughter and first-­degree arson, both Class A felonies, are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Moses’ sentencing is set for July 16.