Garden Isle man pleads guilty to killing his neighbor in 2013

The Kauai County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday that a 44-year-old Omao man admitted killing his 88-year-old neighbor in a 2013 New Year’s Eve shooting.

Giovanni Corpuz, who was captured in Taiwan shortly after the shooting, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Amby Cruz, a retired Lihue Plantation mechanic.

Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of life with the possibility of parole, and Corpuz faced enhanced sentencing because Cruz was elderly.

Under a plea deal, however, County Prosecutor Justin Kollar said he will not seek a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. He said the case was “not cut and dried,” although there were numerous witnesses and a lot of forensic evidence.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 5 before Fifth Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe.

Cruz, who arrived on Kauai from the Philippines in the mid-1940s, worked more than 45 years for Lihue Plantation.

Corpuz fled after the shooting and was en route to the Philippines when he was caught in Taiwan.

The FBI, with the help of the Taiwanese government, detained Corpuz on Jan. 9, 2014, when he arrived in Taipei, and he was extradited six days later. He has been held at the Kauai Community Correctional Center since then.

“Credit is due to lead KPD Detective Bernard Purisima for his thorough investigation in this case,” Kollar said. “Our thoughts remain with the victim’s family.”