A 47-year-old Ocean View man described by a prosecutor as “the leader of the Hells Angels local club” was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for a stabbing last year at a popular beach in Keaukaha. ADVERTISING A 47-year-old
A 47-year-old Ocean View man described by a prosecutor as “the leader of the Hells Angels local club” was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for a stabbing last year at a popular beach in Keaukaha.
Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura also ordered Paul Gibson to make restitution of $5,629.49 to reimburse medical expenses incurred by David Coombes, who was stabbed 12 times during the May 10, 2014, altercation on a side road close to James Kealoha Beach Park, better known as “4-Mile.”
In a deal with prosecutors, Coombes pleaded no contest Aug. 13 to second-degree assault and first-degree terroristic threatening. He originally was charged with attempted second-degree murder, two counts of terroristic threatening, five firearms offenses, resisting an order to stop and failure to provide a DNA sample to law enforcement.
Deputy Prosecutor Joseph Lee said the case came down to “power and perks.” He said Gibson, who was then a prospect for the Oahu Hells Angels’ chapter, took it upon himself to tell Coombes, then 41, and his wife, Alicia Jeremiah-Coombes, to leave a memorial gathering for a deceased biker at the beach.
“The reason that the Coombes were not welcome … is because of the defendant’s attitude toward David Coombes,” Lee told the judge. “David Coombes is a former member of the Vagos Motorcycle Club on the mainland and the defendant knew this. … The defendant decided he was going to show the power that he had, or that he believed he had, and force the Coombes leave.”
Gibson’s attorney, Michael Zola, acknowledged his client told the Coombeses to leave, but said the altercation was not prompted by “a turf war between the Vagos and the Hells Angels.”
“We’re looking at a mutual affray gone wrong … and Mr. Gibson has responsibility in his role in that,” Zola told the judge. “And what happened after that is that Mr. Coombes, who is a trained fighter at BJ Penn’s gym and is a much heavier guy, got the better of him and he got him on the ground. … The underlying premise here is that Mr. Gibson was being choked out and decided, whether rightly or wrongly, that he needed to pull out his pocketknife and stop (Coombes) from killing him.”
The couple, who maintain the attack was unprovoked, said Gibson pointed a handgun at Alicia Jeremiah-Coombes. A loaded black .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol was found later in some bushes along Apapane Road in Keaukaha, but Gibson denies having anything to do with the weapon.
“The defendant insists that that firearm was planted by Alicia Coombes,” Lee said. “It is interesting to point out that while the defendant denies possessing or touching that firearm, his DNA, the defendant’s DNA was found on the firearm. … Nowhere on that firearm was the DNA of Alicia Coombes found on that firearm.”
Gibson, who since has become a full-patch member of Hells Angels, spoke briefly. Turning to the Coombeses, he said, “I’ve had a lot of time to consider … the effect that it had on the Coombes and the negative impact it had on them and my own family, and I do accept responsibility for my part in this confrontation.”
“Is there anything else you’d like to say?” asked Nakamura.
“No,” Gibson replied.
Zola asked the judge to consider probation with intermittent jail or to delay Gibson’s imprisonment so he can finish contracted work as a plumber “and provide for his family.”
Nakamura ordered immediate incarceration, noting “the seriousness of the offenses,” and Gibson’s wife, Christie, wept openly.
“You do have a prior criminal history,” the judge said. “The court believes that prison terms are appropriate for the purpose of punishment and the deterrence of others. And I think these considerations would override any concerns that one would have for provision for your family.”
Alicia Jeremiah-Coombes also shed tears after the hearing.
“This is sad. Everybody’s affected by it. Everybody. Not only me and my husband, but also them. But I’m glad the judge saw what needed to be done,” she said.
“Hopefully, he’ll go in a different direction and not hurt somebody else,” David Coombes said.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
