A 33-year-old Pahoa man who allegedly abducted his children’s mother, shot a man who was with her and then held off police with a rifle last month before shooting himself in the face was indicted Wednesday by a Hilo grand jury.
The seven-count indictment charges Jovin Chang with attempted first- and second-degree murder, kidnapping, use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony, carrying a loaded firearm on a highway, illegally carrying ammunition and first-degree property damage.
A judge set bail at $271,000 for Chang, who’s still hospitalized at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu.
Chang is accused of a Dec. 19 crime spree that started before dawn, with police responding to a 5:39 a.m. report of a shooting on Nohea Street in Leilani Estates subdivision. Officers found the victim, 25-year-old Ralph Aviles Jr., with multiple gunshot wounds to his body.
Aviles told police he and 30-year-old Sandy Nasario, the mother of Chang’s four daughters, were tailed by a blue SUV driven by Chang. When both vehicles stopped, Chang and Aviles allegedly engaged in a confrontation that ended with Chang shooting Aviles several times.
Aviles is the son of retired professional boxer Ralph Aviles Sr., who was once the world’s third-ranked junior lightweight. He’s since been released from the hospital and testified before the grand jury, according to Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Hashizaki.
“He is doing remarkably well for someone who was shot multiple times,” Hashizaki said. “He’s walking, he’s talking, he looks like he’s still in top physical condition.”
Police say after Chang shot Aviles, he ordered Nasario into Chang’s SUV. Puna Patrol Officer Tristin Allen encountered the SUV turning into the driveway of a Leilani Avenue home, police said.
Gunshots coming from the home caused more than $20,000 in damage to Allen’s Toyota 4Runner, according to the indictment. Allen wasn’t injured but was forced to leave his vehicle on the road and establish a perimeter with the assistance of other responding officers, police said.
“There were shots fired, which is why he abandoned the vehicle and took cover elsewhere,” said Capt. Randall Medeiros of the Hilo Criminal Investigation Division. “The vehicle was shot, I mean all over, from front bumper to rear. The 4Runner was, like, a year or two old, and it was deemed a total loss.”
Police asked nearby residents to evacuate for their own safety and the Special Response Team, the department’s SWAT unit, was brought in. The incident was treated as a hostage situation after Chang allegedly holed up in the home with Nasario and their four daughters, ages 9 to 16.
The standoff ended at about 2 p.m. as Chang walked out to Leilani Avenue with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his face, police said. A rifle was recovered from the property.
The first-degree attempted murder charge was lodged because Allen is a law enforcement officer. It carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole upon conviction.
The second-degree attempted murder charge, for the shooting of Aviles, carries a mandatory sentence of life with the possibility of parole upon conviction.
Kidnapping and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony are Class A felonies that carry a potential 20-year prison term.
Carrying a loaded firearm on the highway and first-degree property damage are Class B felonies that carry a potential 10-year sentence, while the ammunition charge is a misdemeanor.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
