The lawyer for a Hilo man police say admitted he intentionally hit a recumbent tricyclist with his pickup truck in a fatal hit-and-run collision in October is trying to obtain his client’s release from jail.
Deputy Public Defender Kenji Akamu filed a motion Dec. 4 for supervised release — a form of cashless bail — in the case of 70-year-old Carlton Inada, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree negligent homicide and leaving the scene of the Oct. 3 collision on Akolea Road near Waianuenue Avenue in Hilo.
The crash killed 79-year-old Barbara Klein, a longtime aikido instructor in Hilo.
Inada remains in custody in Hawaii Community Correctional Center, unable to post $100,000 bail.
Akamu’s motion notes Inada is retired and on a fixed monthly income, described earlier in open court as “roughly $800 in Social Security.”
The motion argues the purpose of bail “would be adequately served by the supervised release” of Inada to the Hawaii Intake Service Center, a Department of Public Safety agency tasked with the supervision of alleged offenders while they are in the community.
The motion also refers to an Oct. 9 bail report filed by HISC “recommending supervised release be granted for multiple reasons and finding special conditions exist that would reasonably ensure a) the defendant’s appearance as required; and b) the safety of any other person and the community.”
The bail report is not public.
The motion notes that Inada is 70, has no prior criminal history, has lived in his home for three decades, and said he “poses no flight risk or danger to the community.”
The motion said if supervised release is granted, Inada would abide by special terms, including a stay-away order from Klein’s family and associates, check-ins with HISC, a mental health assessment, electronic monitoring, and an order to not drive while the case is active.
Inada is scheduled to appear at 8:30 a.m. Friday before Hilo Circuit Judge Peter Kubota. Prosecutors had not filed a reply brief as of Wednesday afternoon.
During Inada’s initial court appearance on Oct. 5, Deputy Public Defender Jauwon Barron requested Inada be freed on supervised release, making similar arguments as the Dec. 4 motion. Deputy Prosecutor Herbert Mukai objected, noting the “egregiousness of Mr. Inada’s decision-making and actions” that resulted in Klein’s death.
At that time, Hilo District Judge Kanani Laubach maintained Inada’s $100,000 bail, calling the amount “appropriate in regards to the facts listed in the (documents).”
According to those documents, Inada allegedly told officers he struck Klein intentionally with his 2016 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck to teach her a lesson for “just going slow all the time.”
Second-degree negligent homicide is a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment, while leaving the scene of an accident is a Class C felony carrying a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.