A 51-year-0ld Orchidland Estates woman told police her husband strangled her and fired a rifle at her after she returned home from work Monday afternoon and confronted him about being intoxicated, according to court documents filed by police.
Documents state the woman told police her husband, 53-year-old Ricky Lee Bowen, argued with her after she found an empty bottle of vodka on the kitchen counter.
She reportedly told officers Bowen then began to strangle her with his right hand. He allegedly then sat on her and squeezed her neck with both hands. The woman said she had “seen stars,” according to documents, but managed to free herself, run out of the house and call 911.
Bowen allegedly grabbed a loaded .22 caliber rifle and shot from the lanai of the Melekule Street home at the fleeing woman, according to documents. A neighbor walking his dog reportedly saw Bowen fire one or two shots at the woman from the home’s lanai with a “long gun.”
Documents state Bowen pursued his wife, caught up with her, started strangling her again, grabbed her phone and threw it into some bushes.
The neighbor reportedly ran home and called 911.
According to police, the woman had signs of injury to her jaw and a hand, but wasn’t hit by the gunfire.
A search warrant was executed on the house, and according to documents, officers found a spent .22 caliber casing on the lanai, and a .22 caliber rifle and 20 gauge shotgun, both loaded, in the house.
Bowen, who was taken into custody without incident, reportedly said asked officers, “Why hasn’t my wife been arrested? Why am I here? She is alive, isn’t she?” while being transported to the cellblock, documents state. He also reportedly told officers while being booked that he wanted to hit his wife.
Prosecutors charged Bowen with attempted second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony, first-degree terroristic threatening, two counts of domestic abuse aggravated by strangulation, interfering with the report of an emergency or crime, and possession of an unregistered firearm.
The most serious charge, attempted second-degree murder, carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole, upon conviction.
Documents state Bowen has no prior felony convictions.
At Bowen’s initial court appearance on Thursday, Deputy Public Defender Megan Fellows requested Bowen be freed from custody on court-supervised release without having to post bail, which drew an objection from Deputy Prosecutor Herbert Mukai.
Hilo District Judge Kanani Laubach denied Fellows’ motion, confirmed Bowen’s bail at $324,000, and ordered him to return at 2 p.m. Monday for a preliminary hearing.
Bowen remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of bail.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
