LIHUE — A Hanalei man was sentenced on Tuesday in 5th Circuit Court to six months in jail for two assaults. Jerrid Keola Ham Young, 21, was sentenced to probation and six months in jail with credit for time served.
LIHUE — A Hanalei man was sentenced on Tuesday in 5th Circuit Court to six months in jail for two assaults.
Jerrid Keola Ham Young, 21, was sentenced to probation and six months in jail with credit for time served. He must also complete an anger management course and other programs as directed by probation.
“Your victims all have one thing in common. They happen to be there,” said Chief Judge Randal Valenciano.
Young was arrested for third-degree assault on Dec. 30, 2011, and again on March 17, 2013.
One of the assaults was initially charged as second-degree felony but all charges were reduced to misdemeanors in no contest plea deals on March 19 in the first case, and June 13 in the second matter.
County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Melinda Mendes said Ham Young has a history of violence that dates back to his juvenile record. He is still a young man, she said, but is already repeating the same pattern of violence as an adult.
The first case in November 2011 occurred when Ham Young discovered his vehicle was broken into and his rent money was missing, Mendes said. He approached the person closest to the vehicle and punched him hard enough to break his eye orbit, she said.
She said the defendant said the man was sitting in his truck and believed that he was the burglar. The man walked to the police station to report the assault, which is something a burglar most likely would not have done, she said.
The second assault occurred at the Hanalei Pier, where he picked a fight with a friend and punched him in the eye and dislodged a tooth. The victim did not want to fight, and did not want to report the matter to police, she said.
Court-appointed attorney Rosa Flores said the defendant has changed in the two years since he was charged. He has the support of family, and their disapproval of his actions has had a tremendous effect on him, she said.
Court-appointed attorney Caren Dennemeyer represented Ham Young in the second case. She said the act was stupid but that he has remorse and asked for probation and that he be allowed to repeat anger management classes.
Valenciano said that the defendant cannot control his violence and transitioned this behavior into adulthood.
He said this aggressive behavior is unacceptable and imposed the jail sentence in the interest of public safety.
