POT GUARDIAN GETS 20 YEARS FOR SLAYING

HILO --An Ocean View man convicted of manslaughter for shooting and
killing an intruder was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison.

Kevin Metcalfe, 49, also received a 20-year sentence for using a
firearm in the commission of a separate felony. The terms will run
concurrently.

Metcalfe shot and killed 44-year-old Larry Kuahuia at about 10:30 p.m.
May 6. Police and prosecutors said Kuahuia -- whose criminal record
included five convictions for felony burglary and two for felony theft
- -- was on Metcalfe's property to steal marijuana from a greenhouse.

Prosecutors had charged Metcalfe with second-degree murder for
shooting Kuahuia in the back with a 12-gauge shotgun, but the jury
ruled the homicide was reckless instead of intentional and returned a
manslaughter verdict.

Metcalfe's attorneys, William Reece and Vaughan Winborne Jr., argued
that Kuahuia charged Metcalfe with a rusty coping saw, and therefore
the slaying was self-defense. They said Metcalfe had been burglarized
numerous times and was living in fear, citing a police response time
of nearly a half-hour from the Naalehu station to Ocean View as a factor.

Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville said Metcalfe's medical marijuana
certificate had lapsed when the shooting occurred. He accused Metcalfe
of lying when registering the shotgun by swearing he wasn't addicted
to marijuana or using the drug unlawfully.