Jury convicts Waipahu man of murder in 2017 stabbing death of teen
DENNIS ODA / APRIL 2017
AJ Achuo, left, faces a sentence of life with the possibility of parole. He appeared in Circuit Court on April 13, 2017 with attorney Jeff Arakaki, right, and his interpreter is Bentick Hilario, middle.
An Oahu Circuit Court jury convicted Tuesday a 28-year-old Waipahu man of second-degree murder in the 2017 stabbing death of a 19-year-old stranger on Kinau Street.
After deliberating for two hours, the jury found AJ Achuo guilty of killing Jeremy Kinon at 1:20 a.m. on March 25, 2017, at 729 Kinau St.
Achuo faces a sentence of life with the possibility of parole.
The two did not know one another and were arguing when Achuo stabbed Kinon in the stomach using a large kitchen knife with an 8-inch blade .
Kinon fell to the ground and Achuo fled with the knife, but a witness grabbed the knife away and threw it to the side of the room.
An Emergency Medical Services ambulance transported Kinon in extremely critical condition to the Queen’s Medical Center where he died from stab wounds.
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Paramedics also transported a second man in serious condition to the hospital.
Police found Achuo inside the room with blood on his hands and clothes.
The trial began Thursday. Family, friends and supporters showed up at court wearing T-shirts with Kinon’s photograph. Judge Glenn Kim disallowed it, according to court records.
The trial ended on Monday, and jurors had a verdict by Tuesday.
Achuo has a history of petty misdemeanor and misdemeanor convictions, but no felony convictions.
He was found guilty of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, on Jan. 7, 2016. He was found guilty in 2015 of disorderly conduct, driving under the influence and inattention to driving, all petty misdemeanors.
