A co-defendant in the 2009 shooting death of Kaycee Smith has agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors.
Peter Fuerte, a 56-year-old Ocean View man, pleaded guilty on Aug. 23 to being a felon in possession of a firearm and first-degree hindering prosecution. The plea came a day after what would’ve been Smith’s 36th birthday.
According to the plea agreement filed in open court, Fuerte will cooperate in the prosecution of Patricia Wong, a 61-year-old Naalehu woman who is accused of the slaying of Smith, a 21-year-old former high school rodeo standout for Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama.
Smith was found dead June 30, 2009, in the living room of a rented Orchidland Drive home where she lived alone. A handgun was found at the scene, and an autopsy determined Smith died of a single gunshot wound to the head.
A court document filed by police at the time said the crime scene had been manipulated in an attempt to make Smith’s death appear to be a suicide.
Wong, also known as Patricia Hanoa, has been charged since 2016 with second-degree murder for the slaying of Smith. She was later charged with attempted second-degree murder, criminal conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and two counts of criminal solicitation.
Wong has been free on $250,000 bail since shortly after the original indictment.
While police and prosecutors haven’t publicly provided a motive for Smith’s homicide, possible motives include revenge and money. Police think Smith’s late father, Noel “Bear” Smith, fatally shot 28-year-old Jeremy Napoleon on June 19, 2007, in the yard of Napoleon’s Hawaiian Paradise Park home.
The 45-year-old Noel Smith died about three hours later, when his 2007 Dodge pickup truck ran off Akoni Pule Highway (Highway 270) in North Kohala and crashed into an embankment.
The late Al Cabral, then-president of the Hawaii Horse Owners Association, told the Tribune-Herald in July 2009 that Kaycee Smith and her older sister, Shelly, each inherited a considerable sum of money after their father’s death.
Someone posting as Kaycee Smith on Facebook has accused Wong of the slaying since at least 2010.
Posts on June 29 and 30, 2010, allege Wong found Kaycee Smith’s body.
According to the post, Wong said she had been helping Kaycee Smith move from the rented Orchidland house into a new house. The posts also allege Kaycee Smith had bought the new property and Wong was helping build the home.
The June 29 post asked what happened to the property Kaycee Smith bought and concluded Wong killed Smith to gain control of the property.
“YOU TOOK IT ALL … HER LAND … HER MONEY… HER LIFE!!!!!!!” the post said.
A July 14, 2010, post claimed Wong — who allegedly has referred to Smith as her hanai daughter — drove to the Keaau police station to report finding the body when she could have called 911 to report it.
Fuerte is scheduled to be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 9 before Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto for the offenses he pleaded guilty to. Felon in possession of a firearm is a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, while first-degree hindering prosecution is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison, upon conviction.
Prosecutors are free to argue to the maximum sentence, while Fuerte’s court-appointed attorney, Andrew Kennedy, is free to argue for four years probation with up to 18 months jail time, according to the plea document.
Fuerte, the plea agreement states, rendered assistance to Wong “by deception in the form of material omissions in my statements to the police regarding the investigation of Kaycee Smith.”
In return for Fuerte’s cooperation the state has agreed to dismiss charges of accomplice to second-degree murder, accomplice to attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder. All three charges carry a potential sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole, upon conviction.
If Fuerte fails to cooperate, the plea deal becomes void, according to the agreement document.
Wong has a trial date set for 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 13 before Nakamoto.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.