An autistic 19-year-old Puna man who shot his father to death with a pellet rifle last year was sentenced Monday to 20 years imprisonment for manslaughter.
An autistic 19-year-old Puna man who shot his father to death with a pellet rifle last year was sentenced Monday to 20 years imprisonment for manslaughter.
Under terms of a plea deal, Forrest Keesler, also known as Forrest Kessler, will go to a facility in Florence, Ariz., that handles inmates with psychological problems. He agreed to serve 30 months there with credit for the 18 months he already has been incarcerated at Hawaii Community Correctional Center. Keesler then will be moved to a “secure mental facility,” Deputy Prosecutor Joseph Lee said.
Keesler originally was charged with second-degree murder for the May 23, 2015, shooting death of 47-year-old Jeffrey Kelly in the family’s home on Pikake Street in Fern Acres. Kelly, who suffered a chest wound, was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where he later died.
Kelly was described by an acquaintance as a military veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. He was facing a domestic abuse charge for allegedly striking Keesler, then 17. Keesler was removed from Kelly’s custody by Child Welfare Services, but moved back into the house after turning 18. Kelly was on supervised release when the shooting occurred.
Keesler, who has maintained the shooting was accidental, pleaded no contest to manslaughter in August. His court-appointed attorney, Stanton Oshiro, said Keesler took the deal to avoid a mandatory life sentence with the possibility of parole, if convicted.
Despite his autism, Keesler was found fit to stand trial.
Lee told Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura during sentencing Keesler’s situation was “a very difficult case for everyone from the very beginning” and asked him to follow terms of the deal, calling it “a win-win situation.”
“It provides for the state’s concern for the community’s safety … and also we believe provides for the assistance, the help that the defendant needs, that will get him the treatment, the training … the education he needs, in the hopes that, in the future, he will be allowed to return back into the community and be able to provide for himself and contribute to the community,” Lee said. He also thanked Oshiro “for working with us and reaching this agreement.”
Oshiro told the judge he agrees with Lee “that this is a difficult case.”
“I think that the parties in this matter worked with each other and tried to help each other. We fashioned a remedy that is acceptable to both sides,” he said.
Keesler declined to address the court when asked if he had anything to say.
Lee said after the hearing the length of time Keesler stays in the Arizona facility is “up the medical professionals.”
“It is a program that has confinement, but also has a separate wing that provides for dual diagnosis, people with autism like he has,” Lee said. “Hopefully, he can get that training, and in maybe three months or so, he’ll … go into another facility. … We’re trying to get him into a facility closer to his family up in New York state.”
Oshiro afterward called the case “a tragedy, all the way around.”
“It’s certainly a tragedy for the decedent, for my client, and the circumstances were unusual,” he said. “The disposition that was finally agreed upon, I agree with Mr. Lee, does address everyone’s concerns. I don’t think anybody’s particularly happy with the result. The state certainly could’ve gotten more time. The defense could have gotten a better disposition. But, in the scheme of things and under the circumstances, I think it’s a just and equitable disposition.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.