Big Island shooting over marijuana leads to 20-year sentence
Associated Press
HILO, Hawaii — A Big Island man who was guarding his medical marijuana when he shot and killed an intruder has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Kevin Metcalfe of Ocean View had stood trial for murder for the death of Larry Kuahuia. But a Circuit Court jury convicted Metcalfe of manslaughter, deciding the May 6 shooting was reckless rather than premeditated.
Police and prosecutors say the 44-year-old Kuahuia was on Metcalfe’s property to steal marijuana from a greenhouse.
Defense attorneys argued Kuahuia attacked the 49-year-old Metcalfe, and the shooting was self-defense.
Hawaii County Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville says Metcalfe’s medical marijuana certificate had lapsed by the time of the shooting.
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Information from: West Hawaii Today, http://www.westhawaiitoday.com