Suspect didn’t fire fatal shot at illegal Ala Moana game room, attorney suggests

The defense attorney for a man accused of a fatal shooting in an illegal Ala Moana game room suggested that his client did not fire the shot that killed 31-year-old Waipahu resident Jacob Feliciano.

Manu Sorensen went on trial Monday for second- degree murder, first- degree robbery and three firearm charges in the death of Feliciano, who was shot Sept. 29, 2018.

“One of the things that is very important in this case is the possibility that evidence will show that someone else used that weapon,” his court- appointed attorney Dana Ishibashi told jurors, adding that an unidentified person turned in the pistol believed to have been used in the game room slaying two weeks after the shooting. Police are refusing to identify the person who turned in the weapon, he said. “It could be that this particular person is in fact the shooter.”

The deadly shooting occurred at Gameroom Rock Za Sura at 1726 Kapiolani Blvd. Video surveillance shows Sorensen and a second suspect, Robin Paakaula, entering the illegal gambling house, where they played on machines. As they made their way toward the exit, Sorensen stepped outside of the room and kept the door slightly open while Paakaula asked the cashier for change.

When the cashier pulled out an envelope containing cash, Paakaula grabbed the envelope and a scuffle ensued. While Paakaula and the cashier struggled over the envelope, a bouncer pushed Sorensen out and locked a metal security door. From outside the door, “a single shot rang out” through the screen door, striking Feliciano, who happened to be nearby, in the chest, Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bell told jurors. Feliciano died the next morning.

“The 9-millimeter jacketed bullet slammed into Jacob’s right upper chest, knocking him off his feet,” Bell said in opening arguments. “The bullet burrowed into his body, fracturing ribs on the right side and damaging his right lung. There was no exit wound; rather, the bullet came to rest in his right upper back but not before devastating his … artery and vein. The bleeding was massive and ultimately unable to be controlled by expert medical intervention. Within 12 hours of that shot, Jacob Feliciano … was pronounced dead.”

Sorensen fled the scene, and the game room cashier detained Paakaula until police arrived. Police arrested Sorensen in Hauula on Oct. 1 after issuing a Honolulu CrimeStoppers bulletin seeking the public’s help.

Sorensen’s trial is expected to continue through next week. A separate trial for Paakaula, charged with second-degree robbery and third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, is pending.