Prosecutors attempt to block drug testimony in Deedy retrial

The state wants to prevent testimony that a Kailua man was high on cocaine when he was shot to death by a State Department special agent.

Christopher Deedy, 30, is standing trial in state court a second time because the first one last year ended with the jurors deadlocked. He testified that he shot Kollin Elderts, 23, in the chest in a Waikiki McDonald’s restaurant on Nov. 5, 2011, in self-defense.

Deedy was in Honolulu to provide security for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Jonathan Arden, a forensic pathologist, testified in the first trial and in a pretrial hearing Wednesday that he believes Elderts was under the influence of cocaine and alcohol, based on the results of toxicology tests performed for the Honolulu medical examiner.