Killer indicted in stabbing of guard

A convicted murderer serving a 30 years-to-life prison sentence is facing a new charge that could keep him behind bars for the rest of his life with no chance of parole.

An Oahu grand jury indicted Daniel Kahanaoi for attempted first-degree murder Thursday after he allegedly tried to kill a prison guard.

Police said Kahanaoi, 46, was in custody Feb. 24 at the Oahu Community Correctional Center when he allegedly stabbed the state adult correctional officer.

Then-state Department of Public Safety Director Clayton Frank said the 52-year-old correctional sergeant was working at a control station when Kahanaoi approached him and used a shank to stab him in the arm, head and neck. The sergeant went to a hospital on his own and returned to work the following day, Frank said.

A state jury found Kahanaoi guilty in July of second-degree murder and first-degree burglary in the April 2009 shooting death of lawyer Craig Kimsel in Kimsel's Kailua home.

A state judge sentenced Kahanaoi to a mandatory life prison term with the opportunity for parole for the murder, plus 20 years for the burglary. The judge also ordered Kahanaoi to serve at least 30 years of his prison sentence before he can seek release on parole because he used a semiautomatic firearm during both crimes.

The Hawaii Paroling Authority can set a minimum term of longer than 30 years. It has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 10.

Kahanaoi is also awaiting sentencing for using a firearm to threaten one of his Waimanalo neighbors 11 days before he killed Kimsel, and a new trial for threatening three others in the Kimsel incident.