Filipino in Hawaii convicted in drug murder facing life without parole

A jury found Vicente K. Hilario guilty of first-degree, execution-style murder, of Aureo Moore in 2010. SCREENGRAB/HNN

A 36-year-old Filipino who acted as his own defense counsel was convicted again Tuesday, April 18, for killing a witness to a robbery in Kauai, Hawaii.

A jury found Vicente K. Hilario guilty of first-degree, execution-style murder, of Aureo Moore in 2010.

Hilario has been detained since his arrest in December 2010 and previous conviction in March 2013.

He had been given a life sentence without parole, but the Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, gave him a new trial because he was denied the right to meaningful participation to his defense (he was not allowed to approach the bench during jury selection), according to a report by Hawaii News Now.

Hilario represented himself in the second trial, which culminated April 18 in his re-conviction for murdering Moore. He will be sentenced on May 4 and faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Moore had accused Hilario and his friend, Kyle Akau, of robbing him of pills. Hilario wanted to prevent Moore from testifying against Akau in the robbery trial.

On Dec. 17, 2010, Hilario lured Moore near Anahola Beach Park on the pretext of buying oxycodone pills and shot him six times.

The first trial evidence showed premeditation in the killing of Aureo Moore, which involved drugs and an effort to protect territory and profit. The judge said the murder was brutal — “many ways like an assassination,” according to a Kauai County news release.