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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 5:25 p.m., Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Acasia found guilty of manslaughter in Good Samaritan killing

Advertiser Staff

Twenty-year-old Kelii Acasia faces a mandatory 20-year term in prison after he was convicted of manslaughter this afternoon in the death last year of Ned Nakoa.

A Circuit Court jury deliberated a half-day before reaching the verdict. Acasia had been charged with murder for fatally punching and kicking Nakoa, a "Good Samaritan" who tried to stop a sidewalk fight in Waikiki.

"He was a very good person and we all miss him," said Nakoa's sister, Paula Rabanes.

Defense attorney Keith Shigetomi said Acasia was "disappointed" by the verdict, which Shigetomi called a "sweet and sour decision" by the jury.

Acasia avoided a murder conviction, but was hoping for a lesser verdict than manslaughter, Shigetomi said.

Because he is on probation for a sex assault conviction, Acasia faces a mandatory 20-year prison term when he is sentenced July 13 by Circuit Judge Steven Alm.