A preliminary hearing is set for today for a 22-year-old Kailua-Kona man accused of threatening to kill his sister and choking her dog.
Chris Angel Martin is charged with first-degree cruelty to animals and first-degree terroristic threatening.
According to court documents filed by police, Martin’s 21-year-old sister told police she was awakened in her Leilani Ekahi apartment at about 11:30 a.m. Monday by the sound of her dog crying out loud, and found Martin choking the canine by the neck with both hands.
The woman told officers that when she intervened, her brother started to kick the dog. The woman reportedly managed to wrest the animal away from Martin and run back into the bedroom she shares with her brother, locking herself in to protect the dog and herself.
The woman told police she then heard Martin rummaging through a kitchen drawer containing knives before he banged on the bedroom door, allegedly threatening to kill her.
The woman told police her brother then left on foot, heading south toward Jack Hall Housing, according to the documents.
Officers allegedly noted knife marks in the hallway leading to the bedroom. Martin’s sister stated the marks weren’t previously there, the documents state.
Martin’s mother told police a white-handled kitchen knife was missing from the drawer. The knife was discovered in a search, police said, and Martin was arrested when he returned to the apartment.
At Martin’s initial court appearance Tuesday, Kona District Judge Kimberly Tsuchiya reduced his bail from $10,000 to $500, decreasing bail for the animal cruelty charge from $5,000, and released Martin on his own recognizance for the terroristic threatening charge.
Both charges are Class C felonies that carry a potential five-year prison term upon conviction.
Martin remained in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.