The prosecution’s closing arguments in the murder trial of Kalani Kaohimaunu went as expected — with Deputy Prosecutor Joseph Lee saying Venus Mitchell recognized Kaohimaunu as the man who fatally shot her boyfriend, Keola Penovaroff, on Thanksgiving Day 2015.
“She was asked how sure she was of the identification. … She was 100% sure who that individual was, and she identified that individual that very night. … She identified the defendant, Kalani Lono Kaohimaunu,” Lee said.
Kaohimaunu, 40, is charged with second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony for the death of 39-year-old Penovaroff.
The defense, however, ratcheted up its tack that Mitchell — who admitted to smoking methamphetamine with Penovaroff prior to the shooting — was not just an unreliable witness. Aaron Wills, Kaohimaunu’s court-appointed defense counsel, said Mitchell “has bias and motive to lie.”
Wills said in his argument that Mitchell falsely accused Kaohimaunu of being the gunman in the shotgun slaying of Penovaroff to exact revenge against Kaohimaunu’s mother, Kathie Kaohimaunu, for evicting her, her two children, and her mother, Bonnie Mitchell Fox, from the property they were renting at 143 West Kawailani St. in Hilo.
“The day before the shooting, remember this: Venus Mitchell and Bonnie Mitchell (Fox) were in a highly contested trial in District Court of Hilo for the eviction case, in this building,” Wills told the jury. “They were informed by the judge on Nov. 25 … Venus and her mom lost, and they would have to move out, and the judge would be mailing them orders in a week or so.”
Wills told the jury that Penovaroff and Mitchell’s presence at the Kawailani Street home attracted undesirables coming and going at all hours.
“Not only did her involvement with the selling and trafficking in Hilo town turn 143 Kawailani into a literal drug house, it attracted a violent shooting that can’t be ruled out as possibly a drug-related activity.”
“Objection, Your Honor. Misstates testimony,” Lee said.
“I’ll allow it,” replied Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto.
Wills called the police investigation “shoddy” and said the state “has not satisfied its burden in the case.”
“There has been no evidence, zero presented that contradicts or suggests Kalani’s whereabouts anywhere else other than Uncle Mike’s (O’Shaughnessy) house in Kalapana,” Wills said. “The state would like you to believe a highly intoxicated methamphetamine dealer, Venus Mitchell, was accurate and telling the truth this time.
“They can provide you no timeline of events that would put Kalani at the scene of the crime other than Venus Mitchell’s false and inaccurate testimony,” he continued. “The gun was never recovered. … No blood found on the vehicle. No blood found on the clothes Kalani was wearing that night. No blood on his white shoes or white shirt. No blood spatter on his vehicle or person.”
Wills accused Mitchell of intentionally lying “because she wanted payback … plain and simple.”
“Payback to get Kathie back for winning at trial during the eviction case. Payback for all the trouble Kathie caused her for bothering her about the rules and the need for following the rules while living at 143 West Kawailani Street,” Wills said. “Payback for getting her evicted and kicked out of another residence.
“Then after the shooting, the opportunity arose for Venus Mitchell to get the ultimate payback against Kathie: accuse her son of shooting Keola, when she knows Kalani is not the person who shot Keola. Given the evidence in this case, Kalani cannot possibly be the person who was present at 10:22 p.m. to shoot Keola on that evening. The ultimate payback.
“Venus Mitchell lied and accused an innocent man. End of story.”
The jury received the case at about 2 p.m. Thursday but didn’t reach a verdict.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.