A mistrial was declared in the trial of Elizabeth and Marc Hokoana in the Inauguration Day shooting on the University of Washington campus. The jury could not reach a verdict.
Reporter Alison Grande has been covering the case for weeks and was in the courtroom when the mistrial was declared on Tuesday.
Mistrial declared in the case of Elizabeth (pink sweater) and Marc (blue shirt) Hokoana for shooting a protester at UW on Inauguration Day. Jury was hung. At 5pm we talk to both sides. @KIRO7Seattle pic.twitter.com/sIAUTTkvXI
— Alison Grande (@AlisonKIRO7) August 13, 2019
Jurors were deciding on verdicts for Elizabeth and Marc Hokoana. She shot a man during an Inauguration Day protest on the UW campus and said it was in defense of her husband. Prosecutors say it was first-degree assault. Mark Hokoana is charged with third-degree assault for firing pepper spray into the crowd.
Antifa protester Joshua Dukes was shot, and Elizabeth Hokoana said she saw him with a knife. The prosecution says Elizabeth Hokoana only claimed Dukes had a knife after it was revealed months later, during discovery, that Dukes had two knives with him at the time he was shot.
Dukes was critically injured in the shooting. He did not cooperate with prosecutors and refused to testify in the trial.
Elizabeth Hokoana, who also goes by Lily, told the jury she started carrying a pistol after witnessing a shooting in North Seattle in 2015.
"I decided to carry every day because I realized crime could happen to me," she said. She testified she didn't realize she was not allowed to carry her pistol on campus at the University of Washington.
If convicted, Elizabeth Hokoana could face up to 15 years in prison.
The prosecution questioned why Elizabeth Hokoana pulled her pistol before she says she saw that Dukes had a knife. She said she already felt she and her husband were in danger.
Closing arguments finished Thursday, Aug. 1. KIRO 7 was there when the shooting happened on Jan. 20, 2017. See previous coverage of the case below.
>> RELATED: Man shot on UW campus during protest is improving, breathing on his own
>> RELATED: VIDEO: Man shot in abdomen at protest
>> RELATED: VIDEO: Man shot during protest on UW campus
>> PHOTOS: 2017 Protest on UW campus
Cox Media Group
