Prosecutors have charged a 23-year-old man after he allegedly attacked a 37-year-old man with a machete in Kalihi-Palama.
Jermick M. Ungeni was charged Wednesday with second-degree attempted murder and first-degree robbery. He is currently being held at the Oahu Community Correctional Center in lieu of $200,000 bail.
Attempted murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
The attack occurred near Island West Apartments and 7-Eleven on North King Street at about 11 p.m. on March 16.
Honolulu police in court documents said a man just exited the convenience store and was walking back toward his apartment a short distance away when he passed a large group of males loitering in the area. One of the males then allegedly approached the victim from behind, “sucker-punched” him in the face.
Police said the male continued to punch the victim’s face and body repeatedly. Other males in the group joined in and physically assaulted the victim.
Police said one of the suspects struck the victim with a machete.
After the males fled on foot, the victim rushed to the apartment building to seek help
The victim was “bleeding profusely” from his face and sustained a large gash — approximately nine inches long — on the back of his neck and head, police said. He was taken to The Queen’s Medical Center for treatment.
Officers recovered video surveillance footage from the apartment building and convenience store that showed the victim walking back to his apartment from 7-Eleven when the males punched and kicked him numerous times, police said. During the attack, two males were seen in the video removing what appeared to be a cell phone from the victim’s pocket.
Police said the video showed one of the males then strike the back of the victim’s head and neck with a machete.
Before the group walked away from the scene, one of the suspects was seen in the video throwing the victim’s cell phone over a fence into an alley. Officers later recovered it.
Police identified the suspect who allegedly attacked the victim with a machete as Ungeni. Officers located him in Kalihi during the early morning hours Wednesday and arrested him on suspicion of attempted murder and robbery.
Police also arrested a 19-year-old man at a church in Kalihi Tuesday morning and a 16-year-old boy in connection with the case.
Chris Pham, one of the males who allegedly punched and kicked the victim, was charged Wednesday with second-degree robbery. He is being held at OCCC in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Second-degree robbery is a class B felony that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
Star Ads
