Grand jury indicts three

LIHUE — A Fifth Circuit grand jury was busy on Wednesday, handing down felony indictments in three separate cases.

Ricky Balajadia, 25, of Kapaa, is charged with three felonies and a handful of misdemeanors in connection with an incident on June 30, when he allegedly burglarized a Wailua home and assaulted a man inside, causing at least $500 worth of damage in the process.

According to an indictment that briefly describes the seven counts brought by prosecutors, Balajadia also threatened a man and woman in the house, assaulted a police officer who showed up to the scene and resisted arrest.

Balajadia is being held on $25,000 bail.

Kapaa resident Ansber George is charged with two class B felonies — second-degree sexual assault and first-degree burglary. Both crimes are punishable by up to 10 years in jail, and if George is convicted, prosecutors could ask the judge for an extended sentence of up to 20 years.

The indictment includes few details about the charges against George, stating only that on June 29, he allegedly unlawfully entered a residence somewhere on Kauai with the intent to commit a crime and forced a woman into some sort of sex act. The case is the second pending against George. He also faces a felony charge — second-degree assault — in a case brought by prosecutors earlier this year after an alleged altercation on February 24.

Kaikane Sherman, 40, of Koloa, was indicted on charges of assaulting a police officer — a class C felony worth up to five years in jail — on May 13. He also faces a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge. Since 1997, 64 cases involving Sherman have worked their way through Kauai’s court system.