Palau's First Gun Murder in 27 Years Happened in Front of Our House, in the Middle of Our Street.
This happened in front of my house early Sunday morning. I was awake and heard a loud noise; thought it was a car crash maybe; decided not to go outside & investigate. I had a fever and took my advil, then returned to bed. The house where he lived and was first shot is across the street three doors to the left; the apartment complex where his body was found is across and two buildings to the right. It's where I walked with Viki to watch fireworks 10 days earlier. The victim is our landlord's son.
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[Man Gunned Down in Medalaii]
A young man was shot and later died near his home in Medalaii, Koror early Sunday morning, October 11, 2015. Police said arrests were being carried out as we went to press last night but the names of the suspects could not be obtained in time for publication.
Police were called about 3:30am in the morning about disturbance and shooting in the housing area of Medalaii known as the Loop and they found Kenneth Koshiba,37, lying on the ground and bleeding from bullet injuries. He was taken by an ambulance to the nearby Belau National Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He is reported to have been shot on the chest, abdomen, hand, and head. The back of his head was cracked from a hard object, according to investigators who said an autopsy is yet to be done.
Sources from the neighborhood and investigators disclosed that Kenneth was called to outside of his home after 3am after which an argument and fighting ensued and later shots were heard. Police found the body of Kenneth at the entrance to the Loop road at the turn to the newly constructed apartment building across from Akiwo’s Gas Station not far from his house.
The weapon used is suspected to be a CO2 air gun, a powerful gun that is not illegal under Palau’s strict gun prohibition law and is often used by pigeon and wild pig hunters. Police verified that there were four shots and two bullets are still lodged in his heart and spine and through autopsy, they will get them.
Investigators confirmed that three individuals were involved in the fight with Kenneth and they will be arrested. They said that argument over a woman was a factor in the case but illegal drug has not been ruled out. This will be the first killing in Palau involving a gun after twenty seven years. Acting Public Safety Director, Omtei Ringang said massive investigation and manhunt for the suspects was launched immediately after the incident. He confirmed that a cellphone was found at the scene and used to facilitate the investigation. He said criminal charges should be filed by Monday, today.
Kenneth is one of the four children and the only son of Mihaina and late Jonathan Koshiba. They are long-time residents of Medalaii and at the time of the incident, all his family members were off-island.
Tia Belau News. October 12, 2015.
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Charges filed against 3 suspects in the death of man from Medalii
WRITTEN BY JOSE RODRIGUEZ T. SENASE
MONDAY, 12 OCTOBER 2015 23:19
Suspects pled not guilty during arraignment yesterday
The Office of the Attorney General has filed Murder in the Second Degree charges against the three suspects in the death of one Kenneth Koshiba, who was gunned down at Medalii Hamlet, Koror early morning of Sunday, October 11, 2015. Charged before the Palau Supreme Court yesterday were Nicholas “Nick” Kloulubak, Michael Williams, and Clifton Kloulubak.
The filing of the case against the Defendants came a day after the gruesome incident happened.
According to court documents, around 3: 15 AM of the aforementioned date, patrol officers were dispatched to a reported disturbance around the Akiwo Gas Station in the Medalii area of Koror. Upon arrival, the officers found the victim, later identified as Koshiba, lying on the ground near the gas station, unresponsive. Ambulance services were dispatched and the victim was transported to the Belau National Hospital.
Police Officer Rickley Antonio stated that Dr. Cedric Isip, the attending physician, advised that the victim was already dead, with multiple gunshot wounds as the cause of death, though the doctor did not confirm if it was a firearm or pellet gun. Koshiba was said to have sustained wounds to the chest, abdomen, hand, and head. He said a CAT Scan was conducted that confirmed the presence of foreign objects still in the dead man’s body, which will be further examined upon autopsy.
Further investigation revealed that the victim was involved in an altercation earlier that morning with Williams. A witness reported that there has been an earlier fight involving Williams and Koshiba and the witness reported others present, including Lieb Decherong.
Antonio said he located Decherong who agreed to speak to him regarding the incident. According to him, Decherong told him that he witnessed some of the circumstances surrounding the incident that lead to the death of the victim. Decherong provided a statement in which he reported driving Clifton and Williams to Koshiba’s residence to confront him in retaliation for the earlier fight. Decherong stated that Clifton brought a high-powered gas/air rifle with him when they went to Koshiba’s residence. He reported that he dropped off Williams and Clifton, who still had the gun, and then a few seconds later he heard gunshots and saw Clifton and Williams chasing Koshiba towards the Akiwo Gas Station.
Decherong said he drove his car after them and saw Koshiba fall to the ground near the gas station. According to him, Clifton and Williams then jumped back into his car and he returned them to their residence. Decherong stated that Clifton still had the gas/air powered gun when he dropped off the brothers at their residence. Antonio said he located another witness, identified as Weider Debengek, who stated he had been contacted by Decherong and Clifton around 3:30 AM via cellphone. He said they asked him for assistance in returning to the scene of the crime to search for Clifton’s lost cellphone.
It was learned that police had already recovered a cellphone at the scene that was later confirmed as belonging to Clifton. He also reported seeing a high-powered air gun inside Williams’ house when he was there earlier that day. Members of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Bureau of Public Safety (BPS) went to the residence of Clifton, Williams, and their brother Nick Kloulubak. The residence consists of a two-level building divided into three portions, or living areas. Each brother has primary control over one of the three portions.
Clifton and Nick granted the officers consent to search their portions of the residence. No air gun was found. Williams chose to exercise his rights and did not grant consent to search his section of the residence. A search warrant was obtained and executed, but no weapon was recovered.
The three suspects were later arrested by the police and brought to the Koror Jail.
The three suspects, accompanied by Chief Public Defender Allison Jackson, were arraigned yesterday before Supreme Court Associate Justice Ashby Pate. All three pled “Not Guilty” to the charges against them.
The immediate family of Koshiba was off-island when then incident happened.
The incident, which is said to be the first death from a gunshot in 27 years, shocked this island nation of more than 20,000 people.
http://islandtimes.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2106%3Acharges-filed-against-3-suspects-in-the-death-of-man-from-medalii&catid=8%3Alatest-news&Itemid=1
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[Man Gunned Down in Medalaii]
A young man was shot and later died near his home in Medalaii, Koror early Sunday morning, October 11, 2015. Police said arrests were being carried out as we went to press last night but the names of the suspects could not be obtained in time for publication.
Police were called about 3:30am in the morning about disturbance and shooting in the housing area of Medalaii known as the Loop and they found Kenneth Koshiba,37, lying on the ground and bleeding from bullet injuries. He was taken by an ambulance to the nearby Belau National Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He is reported to have been shot on the chest, abdomen, hand, and head. The back of his head was cracked from a hard object, according to investigators who said an autopsy is yet to be done.
Sources from the neighborhood and investigators disclosed that Kenneth was called to outside of his home after 3am after which an argument and fighting ensued and later shots were heard. Police found the body of Kenneth at the entrance to the Loop road at the turn to the newly constructed apartment building across from Akiwo’s Gas Station not far from his house.
The weapon used is suspected to be a CO2 air gun, a powerful gun that is not illegal under Palau’s strict gun prohibition law and is often used by pigeon and wild pig hunters. Police verified that there were four shots and two bullets are still lodged in his heart and spine and through autopsy, they will get them.
Investigators confirmed that three individuals were involved in the fight with Kenneth and they will be arrested. They said that argument over a woman was a factor in the case but illegal drug has not been ruled out. This will be the first killing in Palau involving a gun after twenty seven years. Acting Public Safety Director, Omtei Ringang said massive investigation and manhunt for the suspects was launched immediately after the incident. He confirmed that a cellphone was found at the scene and used to facilitate the investigation. He said criminal charges should be filed by Monday, today.
Kenneth is one of the four children and the only son of Mihaina and late Jonathan Koshiba. They are long-time residents of Medalaii and at the time of the incident, all his family members were off-island.
Tia Belau News. October 12, 2015.
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Charges filed against 3 suspects in the death of man from Medalii
WRITTEN BY JOSE RODRIGUEZ T. SENASE
MONDAY, 12 OCTOBER 2015 23:19
Suspects pled not guilty during arraignment yesterday
The Office of the Attorney General has filed Murder in the Second Degree charges against the three suspects in the death of one Kenneth Koshiba, who was gunned down at Medalii Hamlet, Koror early morning of Sunday, October 11, 2015. Charged before the Palau Supreme Court yesterday were Nicholas “Nick” Kloulubak, Michael Williams, and Clifton Kloulubak.
The filing of the case against the Defendants came a day after the gruesome incident happened.
According to court documents, around 3: 15 AM of the aforementioned date, patrol officers were dispatched to a reported disturbance around the Akiwo Gas Station in the Medalii area of Koror. Upon arrival, the officers found the victim, later identified as Koshiba, lying on the ground near the gas station, unresponsive. Ambulance services were dispatched and the victim was transported to the Belau National Hospital.
Police Officer Rickley Antonio stated that Dr. Cedric Isip, the attending physician, advised that the victim was already dead, with multiple gunshot wounds as the cause of death, though the doctor did not confirm if it was a firearm or pellet gun. Koshiba was said to have sustained wounds to the chest, abdomen, hand, and head. He said a CAT Scan was conducted that confirmed the presence of foreign objects still in the dead man’s body, which will be further examined upon autopsy.
Further investigation revealed that the victim was involved in an altercation earlier that morning with Williams. A witness reported that there has been an earlier fight involving Williams and Koshiba and the witness reported others present, including Lieb Decherong.
Antonio said he located Decherong who agreed to speak to him regarding the incident. According to him, Decherong told him that he witnessed some of the circumstances surrounding the incident that lead to the death of the victim. Decherong provided a statement in which he reported driving Clifton and Williams to Koshiba’s residence to confront him in retaliation for the earlier fight. Decherong stated that Clifton brought a high-powered gas/air rifle with him when they went to Koshiba’s residence. He reported that he dropped off Williams and Clifton, who still had the gun, and then a few seconds later he heard gunshots and saw Clifton and Williams chasing Koshiba towards the Akiwo Gas Station.
Decherong said he drove his car after them and saw Koshiba fall to the ground near the gas station. According to him, Clifton and Williams then jumped back into his car and he returned them to their residence. Decherong stated that Clifton still had the gas/air powered gun when he dropped off the brothers at their residence. Antonio said he located another witness, identified as Weider Debengek, who stated he had been contacted by Decherong and Clifton around 3:30 AM via cellphone. He said they asked him for assistance in returning to the scene of the crime to search for Clifton’s lost cellphone.
It was learned that police had already recovered a cellphone at the scene that was later confirmed as belonging to Clifton. He also reported seeing a high-powered air gun inside Williams’ house when he was there earlier that day. Members of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Bureau of Public Safety (BPS) went to the residence of Clifton, Williams, and their brother Nick Kloulubak. The residence consists of a two-level building divided into three portions, or living areas. Each brother has primary control over one of the three portions.
Clifton and Nick granted the officers consent to search their portions of the residence. No air gun was found. Williams chose to exercise his rights and did not grant consent to search his section of the residence. A search warrant was obtained and executed, but no weapon was recovered.
The three suspects were later arrested by the police and brought to the Koror Jail.
The three suspects, accompanied by Chief Public Defender Allison Jackson, were arraigned yesterday before Supreme Court Associate Justice Ashby Pate. All three pled “Not Guilty” to the charges against them.
The immediate family of Koshiba was off-island when then incident happened.
The incident, which is said to be the first death from a gunshot in 27 years, shocked this island nation of more than 20,000 people.
http://islandtimes.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2106%3Acharges-filed-against-3-suspects-in-the-death-of-man-from-medalii&catid=8%3Alatest-news&Itemid=1