KAILUA-KONA —A District Court judge has scheduled a preliminary hearing for the second suspect in an alleged 2016 rape at Old Kona Airport Park.
Samuel Latrik, 18, appeared in District Court Friday morning after a family court judge waived his charges to adult court proceedings on Thursday. The teen was booked into jail on three counts of first-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, kidnapping, second-degree robbery and first-degree terroristic threatening following the family court hearing.
During Friday’s hearing, bail was maintained at $50,000, and a Marshallese interpreter was requested for the preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
Despite Latrik being an adult, the alleged crime occurred when he was juvenile. Because of that, the case had to first be heard in family court where the judge would decide to waive jurisdiction.
Prosecutors filed multiple charges of sexual assault against the first suspect, Tyron Sigrah, 17, in November after a family court judge granted a waiver of jurisdiction. In November, a District Court judge found there was probable cause during a preliminary hearing to continue the teen’s case to Circuit Court.
The charges stem from an incident that allegedly occurred on Sept. 3, 2016. Hawaii police say two boys approached a woman, punched and sexually assaulted her. Police added the boys reportedly fled when confronted by an unidentified person.
A day after the incident, police arrested one suspect, a 15-year-old boy, later identified as Sigrah. He was released into his parents’ custody the same day, police said.
Sigrah was identified as a suspect after investigators found him in possession of the victim’s phone the day after the alleged assault. The teen and his father did go to the Kealakehe police station later that day on Sept. 4.
A search warrant was prepared to collect DNA samples from Sigrah.
According to testimony from Sigrah’s preliminary hearing held in November, lead detective at the time, Renee Morinaka, told the court she advised the teen of his rights and he did make a statement to her that day.
According to the retired detective, Sigrah admitted to her he was at Old Kona Airport Park the night of the reported assault and he did approach a female and strike her once.
“He didn’t put any part of his body in or on her,” Morinaka told the court as she recalled her conversation with Sigrah.
Morinaka testified that Sigrah’s father turned over the victim’s phone.
Sigrah is facing three counts of first-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, kidnapping, second-degree robbery, first-degree terroristic threatening and third-degree sexual assault. He pleaded not guilty in December. A jury trial date has been set for April in Sigrah’s case. He is currently out on bail.
West Hawaii Today does not name minors who are suspects in criminal cases unless they have been charged as adults. Because Sigrah is still considered a juvenile, the police department has to treat him as such and by law cannot release a mug shot of the 17-year-old, according to police.
Hawaii Police Lt. Rio Amon-Wilkins with the Juvenile Aid Section said Friday morning investigators were led to Latrik after Sigrah provided a first name and physical description.
After talking with people who knew Sigrah, Amon-Wilkins said, they were able to identify Latrik.
“It was good ol’ police work trying to track people down,” said Deputy Prosecutor Sheri Lawson outside the Kona courthouse Friday.
Latrik has been attending family court proceedings since August, while Sigrah started in June.
During Sigrah’s preliminary hearing in November, the victim testified about the night she was attacked. She told the court the boys took turns physically and sexually assaulting her in the middle of the park’s soccer field.
It wasn’t until a good Samaritan came to the scene that they ran off.
The woman testified that she suffered bruised ribs and a broken nose from the assault.
Thank goodness these 2 monsters have been caught and hopefully our government punishes them accordingly. ..people want to feel safe walking around in peace
it behooves the Kosrean community to rein in these bad boys , these gang banger wannabes . The great majority of this Kosreans community are wonderful people , hard working , friendly , responsible , religious . Yet within this community is a growing number of ‘wildlings ‘ who are growing up like weeds , out of control and now dangerous . Where are the elders and their influence ? It is needed . The punks need to be given a choice : straighten up or you are on the next plane to Kosrei . With no chance of return . Nothing in the Compact For Free Association ( look it up ) gives them the right to live and act like hoodlums . They are NOT U.S. citizens . They can be deported . ICE is tracking this particular case .
We thought they could be deported when found guilty of violence too, but the one who assaulted my wife was given 90 days plus probation and then let out on the streets. Prosecutor should have been struck up by heels and beaten worse than they gave my wife ….