By JOHN BURNETT By JOHN BURNETT ADVERTISING Tribune-Herald staff writer A plea deal could happen in the near future for a 19-year-old Hilo man accused of making online threats almost a year ago against security officers at the Kamehameha Schools
By JOHN BURNETT
Tribune-Herald staff writer
A plea deal could happen in the near future for a 19-year-old Hilo man accused of making online threats almost a year ago against security officers at the Kamehameha Schools Hawaii campus.
Jeremy Costa appeared Wednesday in Hilo Circuit Court, accompanied by his parents. His demeanor was subdued, and he answered questions from Judge Greg Nakamura with a simple, “Yes, sir.”
Costa’s court-appointed attorney, Ivan Van Leer, asked the judge for a return date, saying he believes a settlement is imminent.
“I believe this matter will be resolved shortly, and all the other matters,” said Ivan Van Leer.
“I think we’re close, too,” Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville told the judge.
A hearing date was set for Nov. 14 at 8:30 a.m. with a conference between the lawyers and the judge on Nov. 9.
“He’s (Costa) got a lot of misdemeanor cases, and we’re trying to wrap it all together into one,” Damerville said afterwards. “And we’re doing our best to work on that. Obviously, he had some mental health issues which seem to have been taken care of.”
Costa, who was previously expelled from Kamehameha, is charged with first-degree terroristic threatening after he allegedly tried to enter the school’s Keaau campus twice in October 2011. On Oct. 24, he was reportedly intercepted by security and turned away. That night, he allegedly posted threats on Facebook aimed at school security, including “rent a cops must die.” The posts also referred to the 2007 Virginia Tech campus massacre.
Costa was also arrested the following morning at the corner of Kilauea Avenue and Haihai Street and charged with first-degree terroristic threatening. Police said he was trying to hitchhike to the private school’s campus, wearing a school uniform shirt and carrying books. When confronted, Costa allegedly tore off the shirt and challenged officers to a fight.
Kamehameha Schools has been granted an injunction to keep Costa away from the campus and from school functions on or off campus.
First-degree terroristic threatening is a felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment.
Costa enrolled at Waiakea High School after his expulsion from Kamehameha, but didn’t graduate with his fellow seniors this spring,
Costa has been arrested numerous times since the Kamehameha incident. In January, a complaint was filed accusing him of domestic abuse. According to a court document, the victim is his 68-year-old father, James Costa.
Then in February, Costa was charged with first- and second-degree terroristic threatening, harassment and attempted criminal property damage. According to court documents, the targets of the alleged threats are police Capt. Randall Medeiros, the former commander of the Criminal Investigation Division who’s now in charge of departmental training, and Officer Gabriel Wilson, a Hilo patrolman.
Costa was also arrested on June 2 and charged with fourth-degree sex assault and harassment for two separate alleged incidents on that day.
According to a court document, the alleged sex assault victim, an 18-year-old Waimea man, answered a FaceTime video call on an acquaintance’s phone that morning. The man told police when he answered the call, he saw Costa “masturbating and exposing his genitals.” The man told police he had gone to school with Costa and recognized his face on the video call.
In the second incident, a 44-year-old Hawaiian Paradise Park woman told police she was sitting at a table in a common area in Prince Kuhio Plaza with her 7-year-old daughter late that afternoon when Costa allegedly sat down at their table and told the woman “he wanted to give her a massage and shower with her,” a court document stated. When the woman attempted to leave, Costa allegedly “hugged her and kissed her 3 times in her left cheek area without her permission.”
There are also two pending custodial interference cases which Costa pleaded not guilty to on Tuesday.
Van Leer requested several mental evaluations for Costa, who was found fit to stand trial. He said afterwards that Costa is on medication, which appears to be working.
“I believe there are some mental health problems, but the psychologists who evaluated him don’t agree with me,” Van Leer said. He described his client as “an intelligent and articulate young man” and said he’s hoping Costa will go back to school.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
