KEALAKEKUA — After two trials, a jury found a Holualoa man not guilty of the murder of his landlord in 2015.
Eber Miranda-Garcia embraced his attorney Terri Fujioka-Lilley as the verdict was read in 3rd Circuit Court Thursday afternoon.
“I’m very happy I soon will be able to be with my family — my wife and daughter — the two most important people to me,” Eber Miranda-Garcia said after the trial, sitting on the concrete steps behind the courthouse.
Eber Miranda-Garcia had to be transported back to Hawaii Community Correctional Center before he could be officially released.
“As an innocent man, I was incarcerated for two years,” he added. “My brother is still there without having anything to do with this case — all because of the police investigation.”
Eber Miranda-Garcia was arrested and charged in June 2017 with his younger brother, Marlon, in connection to the 2015 death of their landlord Dolores “Lolo” Borja-Valle. The brothers were tried together last year on the same second-degree murder charge.
After weeks long trial, jurors were unable to return a verdict, resulting in a hung jury. In the ensuing months as the state and defense prepared for trial a second time, 3rd Circuit Court Judge Robert D.S. Kim severed the brothers’ cases. Marlon Miranda-Garcia’s trial is scheduled for July.
After the verdict was read Thursday, Fujioka-Lilley could not stop smiling.
“In this case, the jury has given a family the justice they’ve deserved,” she said. “This jury, they’ve given him his life back.”
Fujioka-Lilley said it was a difficult case. She added she feels sad that Lolo’s family doesn’t have closure in his death.
“But sending Eber to prison would not be justice,” the defense counselor said.
The prosecution was disappointed by the outcome, but glad the case had finally come to an end.
“The state believed in this case,” said Deputy Prosecutor Sheri Lawson. “I’d rather have lost than have not tried.”
Lawson added the jurors had a difficult decision to make and they made it. She appreciated their efforts in the case and respected the court’s decision.
“The case was difficult and the jury did their job,” she said.
She added it was a difficult case because it was based on circumstantial evidence.
Regardless of comments made by the defense, the prosecutor added, Hawaii Police Department did an amazing job on the investigation.
“Despite the outcome, nothing should be taken away from what they did,” Lawson said.
Lawson did not comment on how this not guilty verdict changes things for the trial against Marlon Miranda-Garcia. However, she said it is still scheduled for July.
The investigation into Lolo’s death began Aug. 9, 2015, when his body was found in a Captain Cook coffee field off Keopuka Mauka Road. The following day, the victim’s truck was recovered in Ocean View.
It took two years before police made an arrest in this case. The investigation focused on Eber and Marlon Miranda-Garcia after tower dumps on cellphone towers revealed their phones were in the area and in use at the time Lolo was suspected to be murdered and left in the coffee field.