Martin Booth Lawsuit: Informant’s Murder and Disputed Motive

The Martin Booth lawsuit is a wrongful death case brought by the mother of Robert Keawe “Lopaka” Ryder against Hawaii County and the Hawaii County Police Department, alleging that officers exposed her son’s identity as a confidential informant against Booth, a Big Island meth dealer who later killed him. Ryder was 37, a Kailua-Kona musician, and had signed a confidential informant agreement with the department’s vice division in October 2013. He was killed sometime between November 30 and December 17, 2013, at Booth’s property in Kawaihae.¹

Who Filed the Lawsuit and What It Alleges

In December 2015, Debra Ryder, along with her sons Buddy Ryder and Wailau Ryder, filed suit in state circuit court through Honolulu attorney William Harrison.² The complaint alleges that vice-division officers disclosed Ryder’s status as a confidential informant, either directly or through negligence, to people under investigation or to unauthorized personnel, and that the disclosure led directly to his murder by Booth and others tied to drug and firearms trafficking.³

The family also alleges police knew Ryder was vulnerable but did nothing to monitor or protect him. The complaint accuses department personnel of a “fraudulent attempt to cover up” the true circumstances of his death,² and describes the department’s failure to train and supervise staff on informant safety as a longstanding “pattern and practice.”³

The Disputed Motive at the Heart of the Case

Whether the lawsuit’s exposure theory holds turns on why Booth killed Ryder, and the two sides tell very different stories.

Booth told police he killed Ryder because Ryder had assaulted a 28-year-old woman living in a trailer on Booth’s property. He later told the woman he had done it for “what he had done to her.”¹ A county court filing echoed that account, stating that “Booth told numerous people that he killed Ryder because Ryder had sexually assaulted a young woman who lived on Booth’s property.”⁴

Ryder’s family rejects that explanation. They contend Booth killed Ryder after discovering that Ryder had been working as a confidential informant against him in drug and firearms investigations. Harrison said the family does not believe the motive presented by the state is correct.³

How the County Has Responded

Hawaii County denies responsibility. Deputy Corporation Counsel Lauren Martin represents the county, and a county filing rejects the informant-retaliation theory by pointing to Booth’s own statements that he killed Ryder over the alleged assault.⁴ As of January 2016, Corporation Counsel Molly Stebbins said the county had not yet been formally served with the complaint.²

Where the Case Stands

The lawsuit moved from state court into federal court. In a May 2016 ruling, U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor dismissed the claims of Buddy and Wailau Ryder for lack of standing, leaving Debra Ryder as the sole plaintiff acting on behalf of her son’s estate. The judge dismissed all Hawaii state constitutional claims with prejudice, but allowed the core claims to proceed: negligence, wrongful death, infliction of emotional distress, and negligent supervision and training. The family was given until June 15, 2016, to file an amended complaint.⁵ As of mid-2016 reporting, Harrison said the case was in “extensive discovery.”⁴

The Criminal Case Behind the Lawsuit

Booth’s criminal conviction gives the civil case its factual spine. According to a police affidavit, the killing happened in Booth’s garage: Booth struck Ryder with a hammer after Ryder allegedly tried to hit him with a ukulele, then shot him twice. Ryder’s remains were found March 10, 2014, in brushland between Puako Beach Drive and Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway, after an accomplice led police to the site. An autopsy identified the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head.⁶

A Kona grand jury indicted Booth on second-degree murder on June 9, 2014, while he was already in custody on 24 unrelated drug, firearm, and assault charges.⁶ He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and prosecutors dropped a sentencing enhancement that would have denied parole.³ On December 22, 2014, Third Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Strance sentenced him to life with the possibility of parole, saying Booth had “assumed the role of judge, jury and executioner” for a crime Ryder had never been found guilty of.¹

1
Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Man Gets Life Sentence in Murder
2
Civil Beat. Lawsuit: Police Actions Led to Informant’s Murder
3
Courthouse News Service. Cops Didn’t Protect Murdered Informant, Family Says
4
West Hawaii Today. County Sued Over Death of Kona Musician
5
Courthouse News Service. Court Advances Suit by Dead Informant’s Mom
6
Big Island Now. Kawaihae Man Indicted in Murder of Kona Resident