Man, 35, charged with terroristic threatening in Chinatown

A 35-year-old felon who was released from prison in July after serving time for assaulting a man at Ala Moana Beach Park with a knife was charged over the weekend for allegedly threatening a 70-year-old man with a knife in Chinatown.

Ernantes K. Moses was charged Sunday with first-degree terroristic threatening. His bail is set at $50,000.

First-degree terroristic threatening is a Class C felony that’s punishable by up to five years in prison if convicted.

Honolulu police said a man threatened the 70-year-old in the 100 block of North Nimitz Highway at about 2:30 p.m. Friday. The suspect and victim are not known to one another.

Police arrested Moses in Chinatown shortly afterward on suspicion of terroristic threatening.

In a separate unrelated case, Moses was convicted of second-degree assault and first-degree terroristic threatening in 2018 after he slashed a man’s hand with a knife at Ala Moana Beach Park.

Police in court documents said a 38-year-old man was at the beach park celebrating his birthday with his family on June 24, 2017, when Moses and another man, Mark Press, disrupted them.

A mutual affray ensued.

Moses then wielded a knife and Press brandished a broken bottle. Police said Moses slashed the victim’s right hand three times with the knife. Moses and Press also threatened to kill everyone at the party.

In 2018, Moses was convicted of second-degree assault and first-degree terroristic threatening and sentenced to five years in prison. The Hawaii Department of Public Safety said he served his full court-ordered sentence and was released in July.

Court records show Press was charged with first-degree terroristic threatening and received a four-year deferred sentence.

In addition to the felony assault and terroristic threatening convictions in connection with the Ala Moana case, Moses’ criminal record includes three misdemeanor convictions for assault and abuse of a family or household member and seven petty misdemeanors for theft, criminal property damage, criminal trespassing, assault and liquor in public places.