KEALAKEKUA — A jury on Thursday found a Kapaau man not guilty of two counts of first-degree attempted murder, the most serious charges filed in connection with a nearly 20-hour standoff in July 2015 in which the man’s girlfriend and a police officer were shot.
KEALAKEKUA — A jury on Thursday found a Kapaau man not guilty of two counts of first-degree attempted murder, the most serious charges filed in connection with a nearly 20-hour standoff in July 2015 in which the man’s girlfriend and a police officer were shot.
Macdon “Donny” Thromman, 39, will be sentenced in April by Kona Circuit Court Judge Ronald Ibarra after the 12-member jury found him guilty of attempted second-degree murder for shooting Hawaii Police Department Officer Ray Fukada; first-degree assault for the shooting and injuring of his girlfriend, Heather Coito; kidnapping; second-degree reckless endangering; failure to have permits to acquire a firearm; and four counts of first-degree terroristic threatening, two of which were filed for threatening Heather’s parents and two for threatening Officer Dale Ku and Sgt. Paul Kim.
Thromman, who stood stoically as the verdicts were read, one by one, was found not guilty of two counts first-degree attempted murder; one for shooting Fukada in the line of duty and the other filed after a bullet struck a police Bearcat from which Kim was deploying pepper spray-like oleoresin capsicum canisters. Jurors also found Thromman not guilty of second-degree attempted murder for shooting at Kim.
The jury of eight men and four women took nearly two days to render the verdict around 3 p.m. Thursday after getting the case around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday after Thromman’s attorney, Terri Fujioka-Lilley, wrapped up her closing arguments and prosecutors completed their rebuttal. The trial commenced Jan. 17.
Ibarra also increased bail from $200,000 to $800,000 for Thromman after Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kauanoe Jackson moved to have Thromman taken into custody pending sentencing because of a risk he might flee because he is facing a sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole for the attempted second-degree murder conviction.
Fujioka-Lilley argued that her client has been punctual and has appeared in court as required throughout the proceedings and would continue to do so as the money put up for bail “isn’t just his money, his friends and family put up collateral.” One of Thromman’s friends who testified during the trial and a woman were in the gallery behind Thromman when the verdicts were read.
The woman embraced Thromman, who told her several times, “It’s OK, It’s OK,” before he left the courtroom.
Fujioka-Lilley declined comment after the verdict was read, as did prosecutors who noted a statement would be released in the future.
Thromman, 39, fired a .30-30 hunting rifle at his girlfriend, Heather Coito, striking her in the right thigh during the July 13-14, 2015, incident at a residence off Akoni Pule Highway in Kapaau, prosecutors said during trial. He also allegedly shot a responding police officer, identified as Ray Fukada, in the right arm, as well as at other officers as they surrounded his home during the standoff.
He faced 18 counts in connection with the incident including two counts first-degree attempted murder, three counts second-degree attempted murder, five counts first-degree terroristic threatening, two counts each second-degree assault, and one count each of abuse of a family or household member younger than age 14, kidnapping, first-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangering and failure to have permits to acquire a firearm. Some of the charges included lesser offenses and some were merged.
No verdicts were returned because of the mergers for two counts of second-degree assault, filed for striking and shooting Coito with a gun; and one count each first-degree terroristic threatening, also filed for threatening Coito, and abuse of a family or households member with a minor present, which was filed because a six-month-old boy was in Coito’s arms at the time.