A 37-year-old Hilo man accused of an early morning armed robbery at a county park in Hilo pleaded not guilty Thursday.
A 37-year-old Hilo man accused of an early morning armed robbery at a county park in Hilo pleaded not guilty Thursday.
Hilo District Judge Harry Freitas ordered Wayne Wesley Geil to appear for a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. Monday. Geil and a 19-year-old Hilo man, Lawrence Kaaumoana-Ferreira, are charged with first-degree robbery for the incident, which took place at about 4:45 a.m. Oct. 25 at Reeds Bay Beach Park on Banyan Drive.
Kaaumoana-Ferreira also is charged with first-degree assault for allegedly hitting the victim in the left arm with an unknown metal object, according to court documents filed by police.
The victim, 40-year-old Jeffrey Thome, was taken to Hilo Medical Center where he was diagnosed with fractures of his radius and ulna just above the wrist. Another man, later identified as Geil, allegedly took Thome’s backpack, which reportedly contained belongings worth about $265.
Documents state Geil admitted to police he took the backpack during the assault and fled.
He also reportedly took officers to the backpack and it was recovered.
According to documents, Thome knows Kaaumoana-Ferreira as “Boo Boo,” but was not acquainted with Geil.
Gary Zamber, Geil’s court-appointed attorney, asked the judge to grant his client supervised release or to reduce the $50,000 bail.
“Apparently, Mr. Geil was having difficulty getting to various appointments, including court. He had a vehicle that got stolen. His mother’s partner officially indicated he would be willing to (transport) him, then refused to take him anywhere. He does have an uncle … who’s willing to … take him to appointments,” Zamber said.
Deputy Prosecutor Winston Albright asked the judge to maintain Geil’s bail, noting six convictions for contempt of court, another for failure to appear and a pending contempt of court charge for missing a Dec. 6 court date before Freitas.
“We’ll also note that there’s a felony conviction for promoting a dangerous drug in the second degree, with a one-year conviction, 275 days suspended. That was in 2007,” Albright said. “More recently, there was a shoplifting in 2014 with a two-day jail sentence. … And he’s got a driving without a license pending case. … We’ll note also the defendant admitted to methamphetamine and marijuana use in the bail study.”
Freitas maintained Geil’s bail and set the preliminary hearing date, when unrelated charges of third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, drug paraphernalia and fourth-degree theft charges are also scheduled to be heard.
Kaaumoana-Ferreira, who is on four years probation for second-degree theft and four counts each of third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and drug paraphernalia, has a preliminary hearing set for 2 p.m. Wednesday for the robbery and assault charges.
He’s also scheduled for trial April 27, 2017, in a separate third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and drug paraphernalia case before Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
Email Jeff Hansel at jhansel@hawaiitribune-herald.com.