SHOCKED, SHOCKED

SHOCKED, SHOCKED: There are predictable times when we news junkies just throw up our hands and go to the library for a bevy of books. It could be the coverage of anything from the trial of the century of the week or some other bleeder-leader that preempts the rest of what passes for news, both locally and nationally.

So we certainly didn't expect coverage of anything of interest when the APEC minions and sycophants marched into town, other than the obligatory protests and even then only the pictures of sign-carriers and super-sized puppets rather than an examination of why these free trade conferences are the scourge of the "developing world."

But lo an behold, some gun-toting g-man from the state department who's supposedly there to provide "protection" to dignitaries, goes out and gets into a 3 a.m. racially-charged altercation at the all-night McDonald’s in Waikiki and shoots and kills a local kid who's out on the town.

Now that would get our attention no matter what. But the mysterious circumstances regarding the charging and release of Christopher Deedy are even more bizarre than the incident itself.

Despite the "duh" headline- "Low bail, swift release suggest to some that suspect had help"- an otherwise extremely informative article by Honolulu Star-Advertiser investigative reporter par excellence Rob Perez reveals that everything from the relatively low bail and lightning fast release of Deedy, to the lack of release of any details by police, was anything but routine.

Perez asked a pack of attorneys who for the most part agreed that the quarter-million dollar bail would have been "highly unusual" even for an indigent suspect, not only for the low amount but the speed with which it was established, paid and the suspect released- all occurring hours before he was scheduled to appear before a judge for arraignment

Not only that but Deedy has apparently disappeared and could be anywhere, even back on the mainland awaiting a court appearance on Nov. 17 after the APEC conference ends.

The problem is that although many smell a rat due to apparent Washington, D.C. diplomatic intervention, what will undoubtedly not get local much less national press coverage is what it says about our judiciary in that they apparently knuckled under to pressure from above in record time- a record even for the notoriously corrupt Hawaii criminal justice system.

We can't help but wonder if Perez's article will be the beginning and end of any investigation of how a murder suspect could be processed and released in the manner Deedy was. But if the kid's gloves the with which the Honolulu media usually treats the Honolulu police, prosecutors and courts is any indication, we don't expect suspicions of something rotten in the state of Hawai`i to get much attention in the future.

Well, it's back to Carl Hiaasen and Lisa Lutz for us. Wake us when Deedy turns up.