The State Department special agent accused of murder while in Honolulu to help provide security during the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings "believes he acted appropriately in order to protect others as well as himself," said his lawyer, Brook Hart.
An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday charging Christopher W. Deedy, 27, of Arlington, Va., with second-degree murder and using a firearm to commit the murder in connection with the Nov. 5 early morning shooting death of 23-year-old Kollin K. Elderts of Kailua.
As the grand jury was returning the indictment, friends and family were gathered at Hawaiian Memorial Park in Kaneohe for Elderts’ funeral.
After learning of the indictment, Deedy turned himself in at the state Department of Public Safety’s sheriff booking station in Kakaako, but remains free on $250,000 bail.
Deputy Prosecutor Vickie Kapp said Deedy, who was off duty at the time, got into an argument, then an altercation with Elderts at a McDonald’s restaurant on Kuhio Avenue.
"The suspect then fired three shots with a semi-automatic firearm, one of which struck the decedent in the chest, who then died from loss of blood from the gunshot wound," Kapp said.
Hart said Deedy’s account of what happened differs from what some witnesses may have said happened. He said Deedy is handling his situation in a professional and focused manner.
A Honolulu medical examiner said Elderts’ blood alcohol content was 0.12. The legal threshold for drunken driving is 0.08.
Lawyer Michael Green, who represents Elderts’ mother, told the Star-Advertiser Wednesday that his understanding is that during the confrontation Deedy asked Elderts, "How’d you like to get shot tonight?"
According to Green, Deedy then kicked Elderts in the chest and Elderts responded by striking Deedy. The two men started wrestling, and it was during the struggle that Deedy took out his gun and shot Elderts, Green said.
The State Department said Deedy, a member of its Bureau of Diplomatic Security, was placed on administrative leave after his arrest.
Hart said Deedy completed his State Department training in late 2009.
