KEALAKEKUA — A late piece of admitted evidence connects the Painted Church Road shooting victim to a reported theft and assault the day before his death, testimony indicated during the second day of jury trial for a Honaunau man accused of second-degree murder.
On Thursday, several pieces of evidence were presented in the trial of Brian Lee Smith, accused of the murder of Thomas Ballesteros Jr. and the attempted murder of Nikolaus Slavik.
The incident occurred on June 23, when Hawaii Police responded to Painted Church Road on a report of a shooting. When they arrived, they found the body of Ballesteros and were eventually led to Kona Community Hospital where they discovered Slavik being treated for several gunshot wounds, and Smith, who suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.
Prior to the incident, Hawaii Police Detective Carrie Akina testified officers had responded to a residence on the same rural Honaunau road the day before the shooting on a report of a domestic disturbance, in which Ballesteros was the suspect.
She indicated there was property taken belonging to a woman staying at that residence — a purse and other personal belongings.
The woman was staying with Smith.
While investigating the shooting on Painted Church Road, Akina made contact with the woman for the first time. She was in her bedroom below where the scene of the fatal shooting occurred.
“I told her we were investigating the death of male party and believed it to be Ballesteros,” Akina recalled to the court of her conversation with the woman. “She appeared kind of shocked. She asked several questions and started crying.”
The detective spoke to the woman again on June 26 at the Hawaii Police station where she told Akina what items had been taken from her: a green drone and Western-style replica handgun.
Akina testified she didn’t receive the fake gun until jury selection began for the trial when Slavik’s hanai auntie provided it to her after meeting up in the parking lot of ChoiceMart.
During cross-examination, Akina confirmed she had observed injuries on the woman during their June 26 interview and took pictures. Photos presented to the court showed the woman suffered a bruise to her right eye, left upper arm and there was slight discoloration on her right knee.
“She said Thomas had head butted her and also struck her,” Akina told the court. “He used the back-side of an ax.”
On Wednesday, Slavik talked about the fake gun during his testimony. After he was released from Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu, Slavik indicated he was back at his auntie’s going through what was left in the truck he, his then-girlfriend and Ballesteros had been driving the day of the shooting.
Items he couldn’t account for were a car title and a toy gun.
“Thought was, ‘Why would Thomas have it?’” Slavik stated. “Didn’t immediately tell police about it because it’s a toy gun.”
Slavik testified he ultimately left the fake firearm outside with the rubbish at his aunt’s house.
During cross-examination, Slavik stated he told police about the replica gun after they asked about it. He defended himself when he was accused of intentionally hiding the gun.
“No, I never said I buried the gun,” he stated. “Didn’t know the replica gun was relevant.”
Slavik testified on Wednesday that Smith had been the aggressor leading up to the fatal confrontation, approaching Ballesteros that day, asking, “Where’s my stuff?”
Detective Gerome Manuel took the stand Thursday and explained how he executed a search warrant on a black backpack found at the scene on Painted Church Road on June 25.
Recovered from the backpack were plastic bottles, cigarette butts, a firearm holster, an avocado, a hatchet and 67 .22-caliber bullets.
Manuel followed up with Slavik’s aunt on June 24 where he went and looked at the truck Slavik, Ballesteros and Slavik’s girlfriend had been traveling in the day of the shooting.
Manuel testified there were bags of fruit and a backpack in the bed of truck. The inside seats looked to be stained with blood.
“Didn’t see a firearm, a toy gun or a drone in the truck,” the detective stated.
Inside the backpack, Manuel testified, he found a hydro flask, and feed.
Manuel told the court his report doesn’t indicate he asked the auntie questions about removing items from the backpack.
Smith is facing charges of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted murder, two counts of ownership or possession (firearm) prohibited and two counts of carrying or use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony.
The prosecution continues its case against Smith today.