Stories related to a series of ongoing trials held in relation to the 2011 fatal shooting of Kollin Elderts in a Waikiki McDonald’s restaurant by State Department special agent Christopher Deedy. Deedy fatally shot the 23-year-old Elderts in the Kuhio Avenue McDonald’s restaurant in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, 2011 after a verbal and confrontation turned physical.
The State Department special agent assigned to the nation’s capitol was in Honolulu to provide security for the 2011 multinational Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. He had been on O‘ahu barely 12 hours and had been out drinking with friends before the shooting. The state says Deedy was drunk, started the confrontation and did not identify himself as a law enforcement officer before shooting Elderts. Deedy says he was not drunk and that he shot Elderts to protect himself and others from being assaulted by Elderts and Elderts’ friend Shane Medeiros. Deedy testified in two previous trials that he showed Elderts his badge and identified himself as a law enforcement officer.
Deedy’s first murder trial, in the summer of 2013, ended with the jurors deadlocked on the murder charge. Circuit Judge Karen Ahn found that there was no evidence to support manslaughter so did not allow the jurors to consider that lesser charge. Ahn reversed herself in the retrial during the summer of 2014, allowing the jurors to consider manslaughter as well as other lesser charges including assault. The jurors returned a not guilty verdict on the murder charge but were deadlocked on manslaughter.
In April of 2015, Ahn ruled that Deedy would have to stand trial a third time, but has set no date for the trial. Deedy remains a special agent for the State Department and is able to carry a firearm.