"An arm comes around him from the left hand side, and a knife comes from his right side, and he feels the blade go into his neck," said Deputy Prosecutor Darrell Wong.
Surveillance pictures show Courage Elkshoulder and his nephew John Walton on Pensacola Street that day just before they got into the Taxi.
Elkshoulder’s attorney says his client got in thinking his nephew Walton was headed to Manoa to get money.
But Walton’s attorney says his client was just following instructions from his Uncle.
What happened minutes later?
"John Walton was the only participant in what the prosecution intends to prove was attempted murder and robbery," said Ed Harada, Elkshoulder’s attorney.
"As you hear the evidence you will see that John Walton was basically an innocent bystander until pretty much the last moment, when he saw Courage pull out the knives," countered Richard Kawana, Walton’s attorney.
Kawana says Walton recalls grabbing the taxi driver’s right arm when he saw Elkshoulder pull the knives out of a backpack. Two knives were found at the scene.
Elkshoulder’s attorney says his client jumped out of the taxi the instant he saw Walton pull the knives out.
"Both men participated in robbing and stabbing Mr. Tran," said Wong.
The two men were spotted by several witnesses leaving the scene, other evidence found left behind in a trash dumpster in the area were bloody shorts and a latex glove.
The prosecution claims Elkshoulder admitted to a co-worker on the phone that "I messed up," and that he "didn’t mean to hurt anybody."
While the attorney for Elkshoulder says Walton admitted in a taped phone conversation to stabbing the taxi driver two or three times.
Driver Tran is expected to take the stand.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
