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The attorney representing a 21-year-old Australian tourist accused of misleading police by deleting video she had taken of a fatal August personal watercraft accident says she should be allowed to enter a guilty or no-contest plea by mail.
Walter Rodby, who represents Natasha Ryan, was granted a continuance Friday until Nov. 5 by Honolulu District Judge Leslie Hayashi to work out details for Ryan to enter a plea by mail. Ryan was supposed to enter a plea before Hayashi on Friday on a charge of second-degree hindering prosecution.
Rodby said he wanted time to work out an arrangement in which Ryan would plead guilty or no contest by mail, which he said is common for misdemeanor offenses.
"A lot of the tourists who come to Hawaii and get in trouble are allowed to do this," said Rodby, adding that he has handled many similar pleas.
Police said Ryan, a Brisbane hygienist, misled investigators during the negligent-homicide investigation involving her boyfriend, Tyson Dag-ley. On Aug. 25, Dagley pleaded no contest to causing the death of Kristen Fonseca, 16, when his rented personal watercraft rammed the rear of the watercraft driven by Fonseca on Aug. 5 at Keehi Lagoon.
Ryan, who was not in court Friday morning, is facing a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. She is free on $500 bail.
Rodby would not say whether Ryan has returned to Australia. Her Australian passport was not taken from her when she was charged Aug. 11 and posted bail. (Criminal defense attorney Eric Seitz, when asked by a Star-Advertiser reporter,said a provision of bail is that the defendant cannot leave the islands.)
Rodby said he hopes to reach an agreement with city prosecutors and present it to the judge in November after it is signed by Ryan.
Ryan turned herself in to Honolulu police detectives Aug. 11 — six days after the Keehi Lagoon accident. Fonseca died Aug. 6 of a brain injury.
Rodby said Ryan feels "remorse" over what she did.
"At the time the video was erased, Tyson was still in the hospital," Rodby told reporters after Friday’s brief District Court hearing. "Tyson’s parents were on their way to Hawaii.
"Natasha was alone and not thinking straight and thought that would be a good thing for Tyson."
Rodby said Ryan has never been in trouble before.
"She is a hard worker" and "wants to resolve this as quickly as she can," Rodby said.
Dagley was standing on his rented watercraft Aug. 5 before it hit Fonseca’s watercraft from behind. Dagley’s defense attorney conceded that Dagley was not paying attention to where he was going, only looking at his girlfriend, who was taking video and photos.
A police report said Ryan told police Dagley was traveling at slow or medium speed throughout his rides and before the collision was sitting down and looking straight ahead. She said she didn’t see the collision and didn’t take photos of it.
A forensic computer examiner with HPD was able to recover two deleted video segments from the memory stick in Ryan’s Olympus digital camera, one of which shows the collision, police said. In the video, Dagley appears to be standing on the watercraft, the report said.
Dagley pleaded no contest to third-degree homicide and was sentenced Wednesday to 12 days in jail and ordered to pay the Fonseca family $78,000 in restitution. Dagley was granted a deferred acceptance of a no-contest plea, which means that the misdemeanor conviction would be erased from his U.S. criminal record if he stays out of trouble for a year.
Fonseca’s family has filed a wrongful-death suit against Dagley and Aloha Jet Ski Rentals.
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enter a guilty or no-contest plea by mail.