Jury acquits man of Chinatown murder

A state jury acquitted one of two cousins accused of a brazen murder on the streets of Chinatown four years ago but was unable to agree on the fate of the other cousin.

The jurors found Zorro Rye, 28, not guilty Wednesday of murder and a related firearm charge in the March 28, 2009, shooting death of Joseph Peneueta. They found Rye’s cousin, Iosefa Pasene, 25, not guilty of terroristic threatening for allegedly pointing a gun at someone else on the sidewalk just before the shooting.

But they were unable to agree on verdicts in the murder and firearm charges against Pasene.

Circuit Judge Rom Trader ordered Rye released from custody and declared a mistrial in the murder and firearm charges against Pasene.

Rye had been in custody with no opportunity to post bail.

Pasene remains in custody in lieu of $1 million bail.

This was the second mistrial for Pasene. Previous jurors told the court in July 2012 that they could not reach verdicts on the charges against Pasene and Rye.

Pasene’s lawyer, Thomas Otake, said he will ask Trader to dismiss the outstanding charges.

“We’re thankful that the jury did not convict Mr. Pasene on the murder count and acquitted him on the terroristic threatening,” he said. “Our position all along has been that he is innocent of the murder. He wasn’t there at the time. And hopefully this decision puts him one step closer to getting this case dismissed.”

Prosecution witnesses identified Pasene as the shooter who used an assault rifle to gun down Peneueta, 35, on Pauahi Street near River Street. Other witnesses identified Rye as the shooter who had a handkerchief over part of his face and who shot Peneueta with a shotgun.

Several witnesses said that after Peneueta had fallen to the ground, Pasene stood over Peneueta and fired more shots into him.

Pasene testified that he was with his girlfriend in the Punchbowl area at the time of Peneueta’s murder.

Rye’s girlfriend told the all-female jury that Rye was with her in their Pearl City home.

Then-Honolulu Police Chief Boisse Correa said after the shooting that the violence in Chinatown was due to drugs and a turf fight involving a gang from San Francisco, where Pasene and Rye are from. Peneueta was from Kalihi.