By JOHN BURNETT
By JOHN BURNETT
Tribune-Herald staff writer
A 35-year-old Hilo man is in custody after allegedly running over his 41-year-old girlfriend with a car during a domestic dispute Monday night.
According to a police log, Mary Raquedan told officers that about 9:30 p.m. Monday she and Justin Keola Lee, her boyfriend of eight months, were arguing. Raquedan reportedly said Lee got into the car and was backing out of the driveway at the Haili Street home when she ran to the gate to close it in an attempt to prevent him from leaving.
The vehicle reportedly struck Raquedan in the buttocks and lower back. She fell and was pushed beneath the car, causing a burn to her back and abrasions to her knees and arms.
Lee reportedly fled the scene on foot.
Raquedan was taken to Hilo Medical Center where a doctor diagnosed a fracture to the second cervical vertebra of the spine, which is in the neck. The doctor determined the injury was serious with a possibility of paralysis and she was medevaced to an Oahu hospital for further treatment.
At last report, Raquedan’s condition remained unchanged.
Police said Lee turned himself in at the Hilo police station at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday.
He was arrested on suspicion of first-degree assault and second-degree reckless endangering and remains in the Hilo police cellblock while detectives investigate the charges.
Lee was also arrested and charged with bail jumping, contempt of court and violating terms of release. His bail was set at $11,000 on those charges and he pleaded not guilty Wednesday before Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura on the bail jumping charge, which was filed Oct. 16 by county prosecutor Mitch Roth, according to court records.
Court records also indicate Lee was taken before Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara on Wednesday for possible revocation of release on bail in a criminal property damage case. Hara said Lee failed to appear Tuesday for a scheduled pretrial conference.
Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville told the court Lee also failed to check in as ordered with the Hawaii Intake Service Center and tested positive for THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, records state.
Damerville requested bail in the property damage case be set at $10,000 and noted Lee was convicted of second-degree escape in 2001, a firearms conviction, three contempt of court arrests with one conviction and multiple drug charges.
Hara granted the prosecution request and set bail at $10,000.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.