Low bail, swift release suggest to some that suspect had help

The $250,000 bail posted by the mainland federal agent accused of fatally shooting a Kailua man has raised questions about whether the agent received special treatment because of his position, allowing him to be released about 48 hours after his arrest.

Several defense attorneys told the Star-Advertiser Tuesday that the bail amount for Special Agent Christopher Deedy was relatively low for a murder case involving a firearm. Deedy was released Monday.

“It is highly unusual,” said Jack Tonaki, head of the state’s Office of the Public Defender, which is not involved with the case. “In a murder case it almost never happens (this quickly).”

Deedy was charged Sunday night with second-degree murder in the Saturday-morning shooting death of Kollin K. Elderts at a Waikiki McDonald’s. A State Department worker, Deedy was in Hawaii to provide security for visiting dignitaries at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative summit.

Deedy, who could not be reached for comment, has been placed on paid leave.

Police, who typically recommend the bail amount to a judge in consultation with the prosecutor’s office, did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Dave Koga said the office had no objections to the bail amount.

Bail generally is set based on a host of factors, including the alleged offense, the perceived danger of the defendant and whether he or she is considered a flight risk.

If Deedy had been drinking and refused to take a blood alcohol test at the scene, as a source told the Star-Advertiser, that should have been factored into the bail amount, Tonaki said.

In Hawaii the $7 million bail initially set for Byran Uyesugi for the murder of seven Xerox co-workers in the late 1990s is considered the highest amount ever imposed by a state court. A judge later revoked his bail. Uyesugi eventually was convicted of the seven murders.

More recently the court set a $5 million bail earlier this year for murder defendant Toby Stangel, who is accused of killing a mother of 10 and injuring two others in a 17-minute freeway shooting spree. Stangel was unable to post the bail and remains incarcerated.

Criminal defense attorney Myron Takemoto said he couldn’t say whether Deedy’s bail was high or low because bail amounts vary greatly. “I don’t know how they come up with these numbers,” he said. “It seems really arbitrary.”

Defense attorney Sam King Jr. noted he has a pending murder case in which the court set a $150,000 bail amount for a defendant accused of fatally shooting another man three years ago.

In another pending case, King’s client has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting a man last year, and bail was set at $300,000, according to King. The Deedy case “seems to be in the same neighborhood as the ones I have,” King said.

Earle Partington, another criminal defense attorney, called Deedy’s bail “extremely low” and said he believes the State Department contacted local authorities to vouch for Deedy and to assure his appearance at his first court hearing, set for Nov. 17. “There’s no way in the world the police would do this on their own,” Partington said. A State Department spokesman declined comment.

Tonaki said his office, which represents indigent clients, has had murder cases in which the bail was set as low as $100,000, but the clients had no means to pay and the cases didn’t involve firearms. For murder cases involving firearms, a bail of $250,000 would be unusually low, even for an indigent client, he said. Bail in some of those cases has been set at $1 million or more, Tonaki added.

What’s unusual about the way this case has been handled, according to Takemoto, a former deputy prosecutor, is that authorities have released hardly any information about what they believe happened.

Police say two males got into an argument that escalated into a physical confrontation, ending in the fatal shooting of the 23-year-old victim and the arrest of an off-duty federal agent, 27. Few other details have been released.

In a more typical murder case, a defendant would appear in court shortly after the alleged homicide, and a police document would be filed providing details of what they believe happened based on witness accounts and other evidence. The document would be filed to show a judge that authorities believe reasonable grounds exist to hold the suspect without charges.

But that document has yet to be made public because Deedy posted bail before his initial court appearance.

In other murder cases, police would be quick to provide details, Takemoto said, often asking for witnesses to contact them to provide more information. “In this case the police have said almost nothing about the allegations,” he added. “They have been really silent.”