LIHUE — Charges have yet to be filed against a Koloa man accused in an assault at a Lihue bar more than a month ago. Nicholas Keola Char, 34, appeared in the Fifth Circuit Court Wednesday and walked out after
LIHUE — Charges have yet to be filed against a Koloa man accused in an assault at a Lihue bar more than a month ago.
Nicholas Keola Char, 34, appeared in the Fifth Circuit Court Wednesday and walked out after learning that he had not been formally charged by prosecutors.
His scheduled court date had been set on Dec. 15 after the alleged assault on 30-year-old Michael Nakana Duarte.
Duarte’s mother began a gofundme page for her son on Dec. 18, which has collected more than $10,000.
On the page, she describes the incident in detail and called her son “an innocent bystander.”
Char was arrested by Kauai Police more than a month ago for assault in the first degree after he reportedly punched Duarte in the back of the head, leaving him unresponsive.
Prior to his alleged assault on Duarte, Char had been drinking, taunting patrons and punching windows at Kalapaki Joe’s at Kukui Grove Center, according to police. He was removed from the restaurant for his behavior, but returned and allegedly assaulted Duarte.
When police and medics arrived to the scene, they found Duarte unresponsive and rushed him to the Wilcox Memorial Hospital Emergency Room. He was medevaced to Queen’s Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
Duarte was in critical condition at Queen’s for at least a week, according to sources close to the family.
In the first gofundme update, posted 10 days ago, Duarte’s mother said her son, who now suffers from memory loss, had suffered “a fractured skull with two bleeding contusions on his brain” after the alleged assault.
She also said on the page that Duarte’s medical bills were adding up.
“From the moment he opens his eyes in the morning till he lays his head down at night he’s faint and dizzy,” she said. “The bills are flooding in … So far we are looking at $98,000.00 in hospital bills!! My son lives his truth, always expresses his love is enthusiastic, lives his dreams and embraces his blessings!”
Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar said his office was unable to file formal charges against Char because the Kauai Police Department was late in sending his office the reports they needed to move forward.
“We did not receive any reports from KPD until after the arraignment deadline, so the case will proceed via grand jury or warrant of arrest,” Kollar said. “Now that we have the police reports, we will proceed expeditiously.”
Kollar said he would have needed the reports from KPD by last week to have been able to file a complaint against Char by Friday or to move forward with the case this week due to Monday being a federal holiday.
Chief Darryl Perry said his department submitted the reports to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney on Jan. 15.
“KPD prepared a comprehensive investigation on this very serious case, which included witness interviews, collection of evidence, processing of the scene, submittal of photographs, and acquisition of medical reports,” Perry said. “Unfortunately, we have since learned that this did not provide sufficient time for OPA to prepare for today’s arraignment. While this will result in a slight delay of the criminal proceedings, rest assured that KPD will work together with OPA to bring forth charges against the suspect and ensure his day in court, as it is our joint mission to provide justice to the victim and his family for this senseless act of violence.”
KPD arrested Char at 1:33 a.m. Dec. 15 at the Wilcox Memorial Hospital Emergency Room after he had been treated for lacerations to the ribs and head reportedly sustained in the fight at Kalapaki Joe’s.
After his arrest, he posted the $20,000 bail. As of Wednesday, he is not scheduled to reappear in court.
The next grand jury proceeding is scheduled for sometime in February.
