Aaron Le appears in District Court in Honolulu to face a murder charge for the stabbing death of Brent Keola Kanae.
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An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday morning charging Jacob Le with murder in the stabbing death of his friend and fellow break dancer.
Le followed Brent Keolaokalani Kanae into a stairwell at Ala Moana Center on Oct. 3 and sneaked up behind him as he was talking on his cellphone, said Keith Seto, deputy city prosecutor. Le is accused of stabbing Kanae three times in the chest.
Kanae, 23, of Kapahulu, died from massive bleeding from his heart and lungs.
Le, 26, was being held on $250,000 bail after he was charged Friday with second-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty to the charge in Honolulu District Court Monday.
After initially denying involvement in Kanae’s death, police said Le later confessed to stabbing Kanae.
Kanae was a line cook at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at Ala Moana Center. The stairwell where a witness found Kanae coughing up blood is near the restaurant.
Le and Kanae belonged to the same hip-hop, break dancing group. Le even performed a dance at Kanae’s funeral in tribute to his friend. That was before police said Le confessed to the stabbing.
