A 34-year-old Mountain View man accused of a shooting death and two nonfatal shootings four years ago has been found fit to stand trial.
Hilo Circuit Judge Peter Kubota made the ruling Friday in the case of Jarvis Rockwell Hung Leung Boots.
“The court will note that the three-panel of experts came back with a unanimous finding of fitness,” Kubota said. He added that the panel of mental health experts — psychiatrist Dr. Henry Yang and psychologists Drs. Frederic Manke and Welli Weiss — were split on the issue of penal responsibility, which is the ability to understand the wrongfulness of one’s actions at the time of the alleged offense.
According to Kubota, Manke, the state’s designated examiner, “found no evidence of malingering,” which is feigning or exaggerating symptoms to gain a benefit, such as avoiding trial. Manke did find Boots had “a history of mental illness” but was “not substantially impaired,” the judge said.
Boots is facing 18 criminal charges, including second-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder and numerous other charges for the Dec. 18, 2020, shooting death of 41-year-old Benjamin Davidson at Puainako Town Center, plus two nonfatal shootings Dec. 2, 2020 near the Papaikou Transfer Station. He remains in custody without bail.
Boots, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, has reportedly claimed he wasn’t at the crime scenes and has no recollection of the events in question.
Davidson, a father of three who worked at Puainako Town Center, was shot while sitting in his vehicle in the early morning hours prior to work. He was found slumped over with gunshot wounds to the head and torso. A witness also reported that he saw a white sedan driving away from the scene.
In the Dec. 2, 2020, incident, a then-24-year-old man, Anthony Moniz, was shot twice while salvaging parts from a burnt shell of a car on the side of Old Mamalahoa Highway, according to police.
Moniz was taken to Hilo Medical Center in critical condition for his injuries, which included multiple gunshot wounds to the extremities and torso, a rupture of his iliac artery in his pelvis, nerve injuries, a pelvic bone fracture and other internal injuries.
Despite his injuries, Moniz on Dec. 18, 2020, identified Boots out of a lineup as the person who shot him, police said.
Another man, 50-year-old Juan Lopez, whom police said rode to the scene on a John Deere Gator utility vehicle after hearing gunshots, reported he was also shot at but uninjured.
Police reportedly recovered several firearms and other prohibited weapons from Boots’ vehicle and Mountain View residence.
Stanton Oshiro, Boots’ court-appointed defense counsel, requested that Kubota set a hearing for further proceedings and said a court date could be set later, after pretrial motions were heard.
Deputy Prosecutor Mike Kagami asked that the judge set a trial date within six months, as prescribed by Rule 48 of Hawaii Rules of Criminal Procedure.
“These families who are affected by Mr. Boots’ conduct deserve their day in court. Four years is way too long,” Kagami said. He estimated trial would take three weeks and said he would be the the lead prosecutor, assisted by Elyssa Correia Keltner.
Kubota scheduled jury selection for trial to start at 9 a.m. June 23, and set a hearing for pretrial motions at 9:30 a.m. March 4.
Second-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole, upon conviction. A conviction for attempted first-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.