State Department Special Agent Christopher Deedy might testify today in his trial on a charge of murdering Kollin Elderts at a McDonald’s Waikiki restaurant early on Nov. 5, 2011.

Deedy’s lawyers notified the prosecutors at the end of Monday’s session that Deedy is one of three witnesses who might testify today.

Deedy’s attorney, Brook Hart, said before the trial that it was "highly likely" his client would take the stand, but cautioned that a final decision had not been made.

"We will decide tonight," Hart said as he left the courthouse Monday.

As the defense wraps up its case, Circuit Judge Karen Ahn must also decide whether to allow the defense to pre­sent to the jury Elderts’ 2008 disorderly-conduct conviction.

Deedy, 29, who was here to provide security for the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference, is charged with murder for the fatal gunshot to the chest of the 23-year-old Kailua man.

The prosecution maintains that Deedy, armed with his 9 mm Glock while bar hopping in Chinatown and Waikiki, kicked and shot the unarmed Elderts needlessly.

Deedy’s defense is that he was acting as a law enforcement officer to quell a potentially dangerous situation that started with Elderts bullying a McDonald’s customer.

Deedy identified himself, which enraged the drunken Elderts, who grabbed at the agent’s gun when the third and final shot was fired, according to the defense.

Elderts was convicted of disorderly conduct in a case that the defense says showed him resisting arrest and swearing at police in the parking lot of a Kailua bar before officers subdued him.

The defense contends the conviction shows Elderts’ aggressive and violent character in support of the agent’s self-defense claims.

Ahn has turned down several requests by the defense to introduce the conviction.

She ruled that before the conviction is introduced, there must be a "genuine" issue of who was the first aggressor leading to the deadly McDonald’s confrontation.

If Deedy takes the stand, his testimony is expected to portray Elderts as the aggressor, which might create the "genuine" issue to clear the way for a police officer to testify about the disorderly-conduct case.

The trial had been expected to last longer, but the defense was able to put on several witnesses Monday, the 17th day of trial.

Fabian Loo, a retired Hono­­lulu police officer who was deemed an expert on law enforcement training, said police officers here are trained to carry their weapons at all time.

He said officers may consume alcohol but are not to become intoxicated.

But under questioning by the prosecution, Loo said he would expect that an agent like Deedy, as a "reasonable and professional person," would follow the State Department’s policy.

Earlier in the trial, Matthew Golbus, head of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service office in Hono­lulu, testified that the department’s manual prohibits agents from being armed while drinking.

Golbus also said federal law prohibits agents from carrying firearms while under the influence of alcohol.

Joseph Keane, a McDonald’s customer, testified he was the man in the pink shirt shown on the video who helped push Elderts’ friend Shane Medeiros out a side door.

Keane, who acknowledged he was very intoxicated, said he went over to help because he saw a person on the floor being kicked.

The man on the floor has been identified as Adam Gutow­ski, Deedy’s friend.

Margaret Nakamura, a registered nurse at the Queen’s Medical Center’s emergency department, testified she did not smell any odor from Deedy, who had been taken there for treatment following the shooting.

"I did not feel at that time that he was intoxicated," she said.

Rosalinda Soriano, a McDonald’s security guard, testified Deedy did not appear to be drunk, but Elderts seemed to be under the influence of alcohol.

Soriano, however, testified she did not see Deedy pull out his identification or show anyone his badge.