“This guy didn’t give him a chance,” she said Tuesday. “What is this, being able to take someone’s life away? My brother was only 44 but he was in bad health. His health wasn’t great. And he was trying to
By JOHN BURNETT
Tribune-Herald staff writer
A Hilo grand jury has returned an indictment against a 21-year-old Waimea man for allegedly killing another man in a fight outside a Hilo sports bar.
The indictment, dated Jan. 25, alleged that Waylen Keoni Carenio “recklessly caused the death” of 44-year-old Roy Williams Jr. of Hilo.
Williams died Dec. 4, a day after the early morning affray outside Karma Hawaii sports bar on Makaala Street in the Kanoelehua Industrial Area. Witnesses told police that Williams had been in a fight with another man, later identified as Carenio, and that Williams had fallen and struck his head on the pavement.
Carenio, who has competed in amateur surf and mixed martial arts events, is free on $50,000 bail.
“I would like to see his bail revoked. I don’t think he should be out,” Caring Leyson, Williams’ older sister, said Tuesday. “He shouldn’t get a chance to do this to somebody else.
Carenio was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Feb. 9 in Hilo District Court, but the indictment means Carenio’s arrest and his case will be moved to Circuit Court for arraignment and plea after a bench warrant is served.
Williams was a father of five, the youngest a 6-year-old son named Josiah, whom Williams coached in T-ball and coach-pitch baseball.
“At the funeral, I was looking at him and he wouldn’t listen to anyone else but his dad. And, my God, my heart breaks, you know,” Leyson said. “I feel sad that his son didn’t have enough time with his dad.” She added that her brother was engaged to be married to his son’s mother and was “in love as could be.”
In a letter published Saturday in the Tribune-Herald, Leyson, who lives in Portland, Ore., wrote that MMA fighters are “abusing what they learn in training” and “shouldn’t be allowed to drink in bars or public areas.”
“This guy didn’t give him a chance,” she said Tuesday. “What is this, being able to take someone’s life away? My brother was only 44 but he was in bad health. His health wasn’t great. And he was trying to live out the rest of his life with his son.”
