By JOSEPH G. LARIOSA

(Journal Group Link International)

C HICAGO (jGLi) – A Filipino-Hawaiian newspaper employee was sentenced Wednesday (Oct. 20) to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after a mandatory term of 20 years and another 20 years that will run concurrently for the fatal shooting of his own 19-year-old son just outside their home at Kahului, Hawaii, nearly two years ago.

Second Circuit Judge Joel August of Wailuku, Hawaii sentenced Jose “Joe” D. Antonio, Sr., 47, after finding him  guilty of Count One, Murder in the Second Degree, and Count Two, Carrying or Using a Firearm in the Commission of a Separate Felony during a bench trial.

Judge August also gave Antonio, Sr., a Maui newspaper employee, credit for time served. He also asked Antonio, Sr.  to pay the victim, Jose “JR” Antonio, Jr., $305 each for counts one and two and restitution of $4,000. Antonio, Sr. was also ordered to provide DNA samples and to pay monetary assessment of $500.

When asked to speak before his sentencing, Antonio, Sr.  asked forgiveness from his family while shedding tears. His wife, Zenaida, and their daughter, Kathleen, 14, were in the court room. They declined to make a statement in open court.

Melinda K. Mendes, deputy prosecuting attorney for the County of Maui, told this reporter over the phone that Antonio, Sr.’s wife and daughter had earlier opted to write letters to Judge August, saying that they have already forgiven the defendant.

Antonio, Sr.’s sister, Julie Pader, who was allowed to make a statement in open court, also spoke of forgiving her brother.

Antonio, Sr.’s lawyer, Philip H. Lowenthal, told this reporter over the phone that he is going to file an appeal before the Intermediate Court of Appeals in Honolulu, Hawaii, and later to the state Supreme Court, if needed.

Mr. Lowenthal said Judge August erred in appreciating the “extreme mental and emotional disturbance” of his client when he committed the tragedy. He added if his client did not mention the “magic word” (apology) during his open-court statement, his demeanor and body language were full of “remorse and contrition.”

He clarified the “Special Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law Supporting Verdict” that his client was going to take a woman to the Philippines “was just a rumor. A co-employee called up Zenaida to tell her about the rumor that was never proven.” When Zenaida confronted Antonio about the rumor, their children – Jose Antonio, Jr. and Kathleen – who were both listening appeared to have distanced themselves from their father. At one point, Antonio, Jr. told his father, “You are hurting us. You are hurting my Mom.”

Life Sentence Is Appropriate

M s. Mendes said the sentence was appropriate. The incident was a “family tragedy that was his (Antonio, Sr.’s) own making. He just killed a sweet young man with a lot of promise. His life cut short for no reason.” She added that Antonio, Sr. “could not claim self-defense because after shooting his son, he just merely walked away from the body of his dying son.”

Antonio, Sr. was found guilty of killing his son on the night of Dec. 16, 2008, outside their home at South Kamehameha St., Kahului, Hawaii.

As in trial, during the sentencing, the court employed an Ilocano interpreter for the benefit of Antonio, Sr., who is from Barrio Butir near Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur in the Philippines. Antonio is fluent in Ilocano and in English.

Antonio will stay in detention as he mounts his appeal, Lowenthal said.

A few hours before the shooting, Antonio’s wife, Zenaida, confronted him of going to the Philippines with another woman, an argument that was within earshot of their children.

Later that evening, Antonio had been drinking with relatives and friends in the garage of the main house. Then, he and his son argued over a video-game cord running from a living room computer to the son's bedroom, where he played an online game.

The father had repeatedly asked the son to remove the cord, saying someone might trip over it, prompting the father to rip the cord.

The son later demanded payment of $1,400 from the father that led to a heated argument.

This led the father to arm himself with his licensed Colt .45 and fire all the seven rounds of ammunition at his son, five of them found their mark. JR died on the spot. # # #

E ditor’s Note: To contact the author, please e-mail him at:  (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)