Man sentenced to 20 years for Makaha fatal shooting

Chad Duran apologized in state court this morning to the family of a friend he killed in what his lawyer says was an inadvertent shooting.

“I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart because I never meant for any of that to happen,” Duran said.

Following the apology, Circuit Judge Randal Lee sentenced Duran to 20 years in prison for manslaughter.

Duran, 23, had been charged with murder for the Sept. 12 shooting death of Christopher Medeiros. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in March in a deal with the prosecutor.

Duran’s lawyer, Richard Hoke, said Duran went to Medeiros’ Lahaina Street apartment in Makaha to apologize for rummaging through the belongings of Medeiros and Medeiros’ roommates. Hoke said Medeiros accepted Duran’s apology and gave him a hug. But another person in the apartment wasn’t happy and argued with Duran.

During the argument, Hoke said, Duran took out a handgun he brought with him. He said Duran and the other person struggled for the handgun and when Medeiros approached the pair to break them up, the gun went off and the bullet hit Medeiros in the face.

Lee said grand jury testimony supported Hoke’s version of events and called the manslaughter conviction and sentence a fair resolution.