Hearing for standoff suspect’s mental exam set next month

A 37-year-old Kapaau man charged with shooting his girlfriend, a police officer then engaging in a 20-hour standoff has a return hearing late next month for his court-ordered mental examination.

According to court records, Macdon Donny Thromman was ordered Aug. 28 to return to Kona Circuit Court at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 29 by Judge Melvin Fujino.

Thromman was present Tuesday in North Kohala District Court in Waimea, where Deputy Prosecutor Britt Bailey asked the case be moved to circuit court since Thromman was indicted Aug. 11 by a grand jury.

“Either way, if I do nothing, this is going to remain in circuit court,” Judge Michael Udovic said Tuesday, adding this week’s hearing was important to clear Thromman’s case from the district court calendar.

Thromman faces 22 charges, including attempted first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder and kidnapping, for the July 13 standoff with the police Special Response Team, the police department’s SWAT unit.

Court documents state Thromman shot his girlfriend in the leg with a .30-30 hunting rifle, and then shot a responding officer in the right arm. The attempted first-degree murder charge is because there were multiple victims.

Thromman’s case has been delayed since the examination to determine his fitness for trial and his state of mind at the time of the shooting was ordered. There also have been numerous delays because the courts have had difficulty getting a Marshallese-language interpreter for Thromman, who, according to court records, moved to Hawaii from the Marshall Islands 20 years ago.

Thromman remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of $390,200 bond.