Big Island man pleads guilty in Kailua-Kona slaying
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KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (AP) - A Hawaii man has pleaded guilty to fatally shooting another man near a homeless camp on the Big Island and then discarding the body along a highway.
West Hawaii Today reports that Gafatasi Napoleon pleaded guilty to manslaughter Monday in connection with the October killing. Murder and several other charges were dropped as part of a plea deal.
Napoleon told the judge he loaded shotgun cartridges with rock salt and shot Alanaokala Solomon Covington in the chest.
He says he only meant to hurt the victim, not to kill him.
Authorities had been acting on an anonymous tip about a possible killing when they found Covington's body buried under lava rock and dry cement along Highway 190 in North Kona.
Napoleon faces six to eight years in prison.
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