WAIMEA — A man allegedly beaten near the Puako boat ramp last week testified in a South Kohala courtroom that he was assaulted and “left for dead” by two men and a woman.
Aaron Melim, 34, and Ryhan Rickman, 27, both of Hilo, appeared Tuesday in South Kohala District Court for a preliminary hearing on charges stemming from the reported robbery that occurred Jan. 7 in the Puako beach area.
A third suspect remains at large.
Melim faces charges of robbery, accomplice to unauthorized entry into a vehicle and second-degree assault. Rickman was charged with robbery, accomplice to second-degree robbery, accomplice to second-degree assault and accomplice to unauthorized entry into a vehicle.
The pair were located Jan. 10 in the Papaikou area and charged Jan. 11 after a search warrant on the vehicle they were found in revealed stolen property from the alleged victim.
On Tuesday, Deputy Prosecutor Britt Bailey called the victim in the reported assault as her first witness.
With a visibly swollen right eye, the man walked into the courtroom and took the stand. He began with recounting the evening of Jan. 7.
The victim testified it started when his friend, “Ryhan” (Rickman) contacted him, asking for gas money.
“I met up with her at Puako harbor,” the man testified. “She insisted on relocating. We moved 100 yards to the side of the harbor.”
The man stated Rickman had been following behind him in her vehicle before they arrived at an empty lot. When he got out of his vehicle, the man told the court that two males got out of the backseat of Rickman’s car.
“They approached me and they attacked,” he testified.
The victim testified the men whacked him in the back of his head, adding the whacks were continual as he tried to recover from the hits.
At some point, the man said the individuals at the scene entered his car and started taking his property. He told the court he was being held down by Melim.
Items taken from the victim’s car included a Vans backpack, CD deck, work belt and a cellphone. His car keys were taken out of his hand. The man testified he saw Rickman go into his car and take his backpack.
The man told the court he was taken to North Hawaii Community Hospital, where he learned he suffered a fractured bone above his right eye and a laceration on the head.
When asked by Bailey if any of the individuals at the scene attempted to stop the attack or call police, the man answered “no.”
“It appears they were working together,” he said. “They left me for dead. They beat me up and drove away.”
The preliminary hearing was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Tuesday. However, the court was behind schedule, forcing the hearing to begin an hour later. At 3 p.m., Family Court Judge Mahilani E.K. Hiatt told counsels it was the court’s position to continue the matter to Jan. 29.
Rickman’s attorney, Don Wilkerson, objected to the two-week continuance, stating it’s his client’s right to have a preliminary hearing within 48 hours of being charged.
Hiatt noted Wilkerson’s objection and stated preliminary hearings have to start within 48 hours, not necessarily finish.
Because of the prolonged continuance, Wilkerson requested that bail be reduced for Rickman to $5,000.
Melim’s counsel, Deputy Public Defender Arthur Indiola, also requested a reduction in bail to $5,000.
Bailey requested the bail be maintained as the charges include Class B felonies.
Hiatt maintained bail for Melim and Rickman at $9,000.
Email Tiffany DeMasters at tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com.
