Martin Indicted, Pleads Not Guilty to 11 Charges

Keaka Martin, the Hilo man accused of shooting two police officers on Jan. 2, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree attempted murder and other charges contained in an eleven-count grand jury indictment.

The indictment returned late last month also charged the 31-year-old Martin with two counts of first-degree assault and seven firearms offenses in connection with the incident that occurred near the Pono Place on Kilauea Avenue.

Martin pleaded not guilty to the charges before Circuit Court Judge Greg Nakamura during an arraignment last Thursday.

The first-degree attempted murder charges carry a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole.

Meanwhile, since the proceedings have moved to Circuit Court a hearing on Martin’s mental fitness scheduled for today in District Court was called off.

Martin is accused of shooting two police officers below the waist while he was lying under a car in a parking lot. The officers, identified in court documents as Garrett Hatada and Joshua Gouveia, are recovering from their injuries.

According to a police spokesman, they have not yet returned to work.

A day after the shootings Martin was located at a Hilo home, where he shot himself in the chest as officers closed in. He was hospitalized for several weeks and made his first court appearance in a wheelchair.

Martin is being held without bail.