Federal Agent Charged with Waikiki Murder Pleads Not Guilty
The federal agent charged with the Nov. 5 shooting death of an Oahu man pleaded not guilty in Honolulu Circuit Court Monday.
Christopher Deedy, 27, faces second-degree murder charges for the death of Kollin Elderts, 23, at a Waikiki McDonald’s. Deedy, a U.S. State Department special agent, was in Hawaii on an APEC assignment to protect foreign dignitaries.
Deedy did not make a statement in court. His attorney Brook Hart told a judge that Deedy waived his right to have his charges read, and entered the not guilty plea for his client. Deedy wore a dark pin-striped suit and red tie. He chatted with his wife, Stephanie, as the two sat in the courtroom before the hearing and appeared more relaxed than at his initial court appearance last week.
Judge Richard Perkins allowed Deedy, who is from Arlington, Va., to remain free on $250,000 bail. He ordered Deedy to get rid of any firearms and ammunition within 48 hours. Hart said his client had none in his possession.
Deedy’s trial has been set for the week of Jan. 23 before Judge Karen Ahn. Hart asked if the trial date could be pushed back 90 days because of a schedule conflict. Perkins referred the request to Ahn, who also would decide if Deedy can leave the state while he awaits trial.
Outside the courtroom, Hart said Ahn was unavailable to take up the requests today.
A man walked alongside Deedy and told him to hang in there. Deedy replied, “Thank you for your support.”
In a hallway, one protester held a sign that read “JUSTICE for Kollin Elderts.” Hart, visibly annoyed, told the man, “Wait for the trial.”
Community activist Kat Brady, who is with the Community Alliance on Prisons, stood near that protester, holding up a cell phone to take photos or videos. Hart told Brady, “Tell me you’re on the board of the , remember that?”
Michael Green, the attorney hired by Elderts’ family, said he served Deedy Monday with a lawsuit he filed last week. Green said he also plans to sue the federal government because he believes Deedy was on-duty at the time of the incident.
Elderts had a blood-alcohol level of 0.12 percent, marijuana and cocaine in his system when he died, according to the city Medical Examiner’s office.
Green said regardless of whether his client had these substances in his system, it didn’t give Deedy a “license to kill.”
“Whatever someone believes Deedy did — I don’t care if you have alcohol, a trace amount of cocaine or marijuana — that’s not grounds to shoot and kill anybody,” Green said. “Now if he has justification for it, that’ll come out in court, but that doesn’t give you a license to kill somebody.”
