Prosecutors appeal ruling barring 3rd trial against agent

HONOLULU — Hawaii prosecutors are appealing a judge’s ruling saying a federal agent can’t be tried a third time for fatally shooting a man in a Waikiki fast-food restaurant.

Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro appealed Wednesday to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A U.S. judge in Honolulu ruled earlier this month that prosecutors may not proceed with a retrial against U.S. State Department Special Agent Christopher Deedy.

Deedy was in Honolulu for a 2011 international summit when he shot Kollin Elderts during an altercation in a McDonald’s.

A 2013 murder trial ended in a hung jury. A second jury in 2014 acquitted him of murder but deadlocked on manslaughter.

Deedy’s defense attorneys argued a third trial on manslaughter would violate the double jeopardy clause of the constitution.