A 44-year-old South Kona man will stand trial in February in connection with the July shooting death of a 52-year-old Honaunau resident.
A Feb. 3, 2015, trial date has been set for Monte M. Moreau, who is accused of shooting Todd Shaver on July 3 following an incident at a Honaunau house where both lived in separate apartments. Shaver, who was shot in the abdomen, died July 26, weeks after police charged Moreau with attempted second-degree murder.
The February trial date had been previously set after Moreau was indicted Aug. 26 on second-degree murder, however, because Moreau had previously been charged by police with attempted second-degree murder it started a 180-day period that would have required trial for Moreau to begin on Dec. 30.
The U.S. and Hawaii constitutions guarantee the right to a speedy trial that must commence within six months of a charge being filed in a case.
The setting of the trial date on Wednesday by 3rd Circuit Court Chief Judge Ronald Ibarra was a procedural move to ensure Moreau’s right to a speedy trial was met after the attempted second-degree murder charge was filed on July 5.
Moreau, who has pleaded not guilty to the charge, remains free on $100,000 bail pending the trial, which will be held in Ibarra’s South Kona courtroom.