A 47-year-old Mountain View man shot and killed during an apparent domestic dispute Saturday morning had a pending court case for domestic abuse. The alleged victim of the abuse was the man’s son, who is charged with his father’s murder.
According to court documents, Jeffrey Kelly’s fiancee, Traci Jones, told police she was in the bathroom in the family’s Pikake Street home in Fern Acres when she heard a gunshot. When she emerged from the bathroom, she reportedly found Kelly on the floor with a chest wound, holding a cellphone and a blue rag.
Jones told police she saw Kelly’s 18-year-old son, Forrest Keesler, holding a pellet rifle, documents state.
According to documents, Keesler told an officer he shot his father with the pellet gun after the two had engaged in an argument. Kelly was found unresponsive on the floor of the home with a wound to his left rib cage area at about 9 a.m.
On Tuesday, Hilo Circuit Judge Barbara Takase granted an examination of Keesler by three mental health professionals at the request of Stanton Oshiro, Keesler’s court-appointed attorney.
The return on those examinations is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. July 14.
Keesler’s stepmother, Angela Bracamonte, told Hawaii News Now that Keesler is severely autistic and that caused him to be violent at times, and that the young man “always talked about how he wanted to kill his dad.”
Bracamonte told the TV news outlet Kelly resisted institutionalizing Keesler. She said Kelly’s alcoholism exacerbated the situation between Kelly and his son.
Bracamonte said Keesler needs treatment for his developmental disorder and doesn’t belong in prison.
According to court documents, Kelly was arrested on Sept. 23 and charged with domestic abuse for allegedly striking his son, who was then 17. Documents state Kelly and Keesler were engaged in an argument that escalated into physical violence, and Keesler reportedly told officers he was punched about five times to his left temple, causing pain and swelling.
Documents state “a highly intoxicated, uncooperative” Kelly refused to be advised of his rights, to sign any forms, or to be photographed or fingerprinted.
According to court records, Keesler was temporarily removed from Kelly’s custody by Child Welfare Services. Keesler has since turned 18 and had moved back in with his father.
Kelly was free on supervised release when the shooting occurred.
Keesler remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.