A homicide detective who has been under investigation by police internal affairs testified in a murder retrial yesterday that she never told a detective to back date a ballistics report.

Sheryl Sunia testified that detective Larry Tamashiro told her he had not submitted a request for the ballistics test on two rifles even though he said at least three times earlier that he had taken care of it.

Sunia said she used a "poor choice of words" in trying to determine what Tamashiro had actually done earlier when she told him, "You mean there's no request dated back, back dated?"

"I did not, absolutely did not, ask him to back date any request at all," she said.

Tamashiro testified earlier in the retrial that Sunia told him to back date the report.

Sunia was testifying yesterday in the retrial involving the shooting of Greg Morishima in an 'Aiea garage in 2003 by three masked gunmen.

Micah Kanahele, Rosalino Ramos and Jason Rumbawa are charged with murdering Morishima. The prosecution has contended the shooting related to an attempt to rob the 'Aiea home of drugs. Anthony K. Brown is charged with robbery as the driver of the getaway vehicle.

The first trial of the four men ended in April with a hung jury.

Sunia was later reassigned to the communications division and had to turn in her gun, badge and radio pending the outcome of the internal affairs investigation, which included a review of the dispute over the ballistics report.

City prosecutors sought to block testimony in the retrial related to the dispute, arguing that it was not relevant. The two rifles turned out to be replicas that Sunia said were not involved in Morishima slaying.

But Circuit Judge Michael Town permitted the testimony, which the defense believes the jury should hear to bolster the defense contention that the police conducted a sloppy investigation.

The result, the defense said, is that the prosecution's case rests on the word of key prosecution witness Kevin K. Harris, who the defense said cannot be believed when he identified the three defendants as the gunmen.

The retrial is expected to conclude by the end of the month.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.