The federal conspiracy trial of former Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and his wife, Katherine Kealoha, a former city prosecutor, and three cops who allegedly helped them is in the final stages.

The Kealohas, Derek Hahn, Minh-Hung “Bobby” Nguyen and Gordon Shiraishi are accused of conspiring to frame Katherine’s uncle Gerard Puana for the theft of her mailbox on June 21, 2013.

After 18 days of trial, closing arguments concluded Wednesday and it is now up to the jury to decide whether the defendants are guilty.

Civil Beat reporters Nick Grube and Yoohyun Jung caught up with some of the people who have been regular spectators at the trial, including Ken Lawson, who teaches criminal law at the University of Hawaii and is a co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project.

They also spoke to PJ Silva, a local retiree who has attended nearly every day of the trial, and Earle Partington, who joined Katherine Kealoha’s defense team later in the trial.