A Hilo grand jury returned indictments Wednesday in a pair of unrelated cases.
Wallace Manuarii Tahutini, a 32-year-old Hilo man without a permanent address, was indicted on a single count of attempted second-degree murder for a brutal beating last Friday night on the Hilo Bayfront that left a 41-year-old Hilo man hospitalized in critical condition.
Police found the victim — unconscious, bruised and bloody — at about 10:20 p.m. in the vicinity of the so-called “Lonely Tree.”
The victim was lying in sand next to a lit fire pit and portable metal grill, with his right arm pinned under a large boulder that was part of the fire pit.
The victim was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where it was determined he suffered a severe concussion, both ears almost torn off his head, a broken face and jaw bones, multiple facial and scalp lacerations, a third-degree burn on his left leg, and five fractured vertebrae.
The victim’s left ear required amputation, police said.
A bench warrant with Wednesday’s indictment set Tahutini’s bail at $500,000.
The warrant also instructs Tahutini to receive mental health assessment and undergo whatever treatment is found necessary until he’s clinically discharged, as well as to complete an anger management program.
Attempted second-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.
Tahutini remains in custody in Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
In the second case, the grand jury returned a six-count indictment against 36-year-old Justin James Clark of Hilo.
The indictment charges Clark with first-degree burglary, second-degree unauthorized entry to a dwelling, intimidating a witness to influence testimony, tampering with a witness to testify falsely, first-degree terroristic threatening and two counts of harassment.
Clark is alleged to have threatened his 51-year-old ex-girlfriend, reportedly telling her if she didn’t drop a felony domestic abuse charge against him, he would strangle her.
According to court documents filed by police, Clark drove to the woman’s Hawaiian Paradise Park home unannounced in a black Ford Ranger pickup truck on July 10 and demanded that she let him inside, despite an order from a judge for Clark to stay away from her.
The woman told police she let Clark inside because she was afraid of what he would do to her if she didn’t, according to the documents.
Once inside, Clark allegedly told the woman “drop the charges” and yelled that if she didn’t comply, “I’m going to strangle you.”
The charge Clark allegedly referred to is a charge of domestic abuse aggravated by strangulation that stems from an April 24 incident, according to court records. The same woman is the victim in that case, and Clark’s terms of release include orders to stay 100 yards away from the woman’s residence and place of employment.
Clark was originally charged by complaint with only the intimidating a witness charge. That case was dismissed without prejudice on July 20 — leaving the state free to refile charges — when prosecutors told Hilo District Judge Kanani Laubach they weren’t ready to proceed with a preliminary hearing.
The indictment reinstates the original charge and adds the additional five charges. The most serious charge, first-degree burglary, is a Class B felony that carries a potential 10-year prison term.
A bench warrant accompanying the indictment orders that Clark be held in custody without bail, although his court-appointed attorney, Ivan Van Leer, is expected to request that bail be set in the case when Clark appears for arraignment in Hilo Circuit Court.
Clark remains in custody on other charges at HCCC.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
