A Kaua‘i Circuit Court jury found a 62-year-old Lihu‘e man guilty of second-degree assault – a Class C felony – in the stabbing of a 48-year old man at Nawiliwili Park last July. The jury, however, did not find Antonio
A Kaua‘i Circuit Court jury found a 62-year-old Lihu‘e man guilty of second-degree assault – a Class C felony – in the stabbing of a 48-year old man at Nawiliwili Park last July.
The jury, however, did not find Antonio Acevedo guilty of attempted murder, after deliberating for about an hour after a two-day trial.
Acevedo, who is currently at Kauai Community Correctional Center in lieu of bail, is facing a maximum of five years imprisonment when he is sentenced May 31.
A total of 11 witnesses testified, prosecutors said, including the victim, defendant, two police officers, the doctor who performed emergency surgery on the victim who was stabbed twice by Acevedo on July 15, 2004, four people who testified to seeing the stabbing, and two who claimed to have witnessed past conflicts between the victim and Acevedo.
According to county Prosecuting Attorney Craig A. De Costa, who tried the case with First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Richard K. Minatoya, the victim and Acevedo were in an escalating conflict over a period of time before the stabbing.
“Apparently, there was some bad blood between them,” De Costa said.
The victim was stabbed in the chest, and his lung collapsed, De Costa added. The victim required emergency surgery.
Prosecutors argued that the most reliable witness to the stabbing testified that Acevedo was the aggressor, and only stopped stabbing the victim when he was being yelled at by witnesses who also informed him that the police were at the park.
Acevedo testified, and his attorney, Deputy Public Defender James Itamura, argued that the victim attacked Acevedo with a soft nylon cooler bag on the afternoon of the stabbing, after threatening and harassing Acevedo on prior occasions.
De Costa said Acevedo testified that he pulled the knives to scare the victim, and he stabbed him when when he would not stop coming at Acevedo.
The four witnesses to the assault gave conflicting accounts of what occurred at the beach park behind Anchor Cove Shopping Center that summer afternoon last year.
In other Circuit Court news:
- Kilauea resident Joe O’Hagan was acquitted on third-degree assault and second-degree terroristic threatening charges related to an incident at a Hanalei surf contest in summer, 2002.
In a jury-waived trial recently, Circuit Court Judge Trudy K. Senda found that there was not enough evidence to warrant a conviction. O’Hagan, represented by Mark Zenger, testified that he never touched the victim, while the prosecution, represented by Prosecuting Attorney Rosa Flores, argued that O’Hagan punched and threatened the victim at the Pinetrees Surf Classic contest.
- Lani Clark, 21, of Kapa‘a, was sentenced to five years imprisonment for theft in the second degree, after being found in violation of the terms and conditions of his probation for that offense. Clark was sentenced to probation in September 2004 for the felony offense and a misdemeanor relating to using someone else’s ATM (automated teller machine) card to make unauthorized withdrawals. A motion to revoke his probation was filed on Dec. 14, after Clark’s probation officer reported that Clark tested positive for marijuana use on one occasion, failed to provide a urine sample for drug testing on another occasion, failed to follow up with required drug treatment, missed scheduled appointments with his probation officer, and was arrested for other criminal offenses while on probation, according to prosecutors.
- Tristan Daquioag, 24, of Salinas, Calif. (a former resident of Hanama‘ulu), was sentenced to five years imprisonment for terroristic threatening in the first degree, after being found in violation of the terms and conditions of his probation for that offense.
Daquioag was sentenced to probation in December 2001 for the felony offense relating to his using a knife to threaten another male at the Nawiliwili seawall. A motion to revoke his probation was filed on Aug. 25, 2004, after Daquioag’s probation officer reported that Daquioag was convicted of criminal offenses in California in 2004.
- Tom Finnegan, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or tfinnegan@pulitzer.net.
