KEALAKEKUA — A death in the family of one witness stalled the trial of a former off-duty police officer two days before he was scheduled to go to trial.
KEALAKEKUA — A death in the family of one witness stalled the trial of a former off-duty police officer two days before he was scheduled to go to trial.
John Smith Jr. is charged with second-degree assault and unlawful entry into a motor vehicle. He allegedly assaulted a handcuffed man while he was off-duty Jan. 9, 2014, in Ocean View.
His attorney, Robert Kim, said during a hearing Friday that one of the key witnesses went to the mainland to care for her sister, who since died of cancer. She will not return until Oct. 8, he said.
“She’s a witness that has exculpatory evidence,” Kim explained. That is a type of evidence is “tending to excuse, justify, or absolve the alleged fault or guilt of a defendant,” the Cornell Legal Information Institute wrote.
Chief Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra asked why this motion came so close to the beginning of trial.
“This court does not like continuances. It is not beneficial for the state, for the defense or for the public,” Ibarra said, noting it’s the third continuance of the trial.
Smith, who no longer works for the Hawaii Police Department, was indicted in 2014, and the first court date was set for May 19, 2015. Smith is accused of responding Jan. 9, 2014, to a residence in Ocean View while he was off duty to assist two other officers on a trespassing report. There, Smith allegedly dragged the suspect by his hair, slammed him against a police car and continued to assault him inside the vehicle.
Ibarra set the new trial date as Oct. 18.
Email Graham Milldrum at gmilldrum@westhawaiitoday.com.