Justice Kaio, 19, charged with murder in Waikiki shooting appears in court
A 19-year-old man charged in Saturday’s shooting death of a 20-year-old man in Waikiki made his initial appearance at Honolulu District Court this morning.
Justice Manumalo Kaio appeared before Judge Kenneth Shimozono via video conference from the courthouse cellblock on a second-degree murder charge in the death of the victim, identified in court documents as Marqus I. McNeil.
Kaio is also charged with carrying a firearm in the commission of a separate felony and place to keep pistol or revolver. His aggregate bail is set at $1 million.
Shimozono scheduled Kaio’s preliminary hearing for April 1.
Police said Kaio was arguing with McNeil on a sidewalk near Kalakaua Avenue and Lewers Street Saturday night when Kaio brandished a gun and shot the victim.
A witness told detectives that Kaio shot McNeil twice and fled on foot on Lewers Street, police said in court documents filed at Honolulu District Court today.
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Another witness saw Kaio throw something over a wooden construction barrier wall on Lewers Street as Kaio fled the scene. Police checked the area and recovered a handgun.
McNeil was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police noted the two men knew each other and that the shooting was not a random act.
On Sunday afternoon, Kaio turned himself in at the Honolulu Police Department’s main headquarters on South Beretania Street where he was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder.