A man on trial for an attempted murder charge said he acted in self-defense during an incident in April of last year that resulted in a Waikoloa resident going to the hospital for multiple stab wounds.
Joel White, of Waimea, is accused of stabbing Jeremy Nicholas several times and faces second-degree attempted murder and first-degree burglary charges.
He was called to the stand Wednesday in 3rd Circuit Court Judge Ronald Ibarra’s courtroom and told Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Burleson that he couldn’t remember cutting Nicholas’ throat on April 17, when the alleged attack occurred.
“It happened just like ‘that,’” he said while snapping his fingers.
White testified he went to Nicholas’ home that evening to retrieve his then-girlfriend and now fiance Ahlea Jiles who had fallen asleep at Nicholas’ house.
Upon arrival, White said Nicholas invited him into the home and the two started watching videos online. White said he stayed there for a while and when he told Nicholas that it was time for him and Jiles to leave, Nicholas started to get anxious.
White said Nicholas, who earlier admitted in court to selling cocaine to White and others, started to make accusations against Jiles and called her a narc.
“All I heard him say was was, ‘I’m going to kill both you f**kers,’” White testified.
White said he felt threatened by Nicholas and started searching for a weapon as he tried to hold Nicholas down in Nicholas’ bedroom where Jiles was asleep.
Nicholas had testified last week that the stabbing occurred while he was sitting down at his computer in his bedroom and White unexpectedly slit his throat while standing behind him.
That differs from White’s story and White said he acted in self-defense.
“I remember him going for something and all I thought was I should stop him,” he said.
However, much of the details of the fight, including when White cut Nicholas’ throat, were lost to him.
“All I remember is thinking that I was going to die,” he said.
Burleson asked him why he didn’t try to escape if he felt threatened and White said he was worried about the safety of him and Jiles.
When asked about the knife, he said “I remember knowing it was there, but I don’t remember when he got cut.”
Testimony revealed Wednesday that Nicholas was also stabbed five times in his back. White said that happened when Nicholas was attempting to get into a closet looking for what he thought at the time may have been a weapon.
White also testified that he had a bruised eye following the brawl, along with a cut on his arm and scratches on his knees.
However, Hawaii County Police Detective Levon Stevens said he did not see any bruises or scratches on White following the incident.
Jiles also made an appearance in court Wednesday morning. She said she originally did not want testify in the case because she is pregnant and was given doctor’s orders not to come to Hawaii.
However, she said when she heard that Nicholas testified last week that he did not know he had a gun in his home, she felt compelled to get involved.
Jiles explained her side of the story to White’s attorney William Harrison.
Jiles said she was at Nicholas’ house sleeping when she was awakened by loud noises. When she got up she saw two people fighting.
“I was screaming,” she said. “I had no idea what was going on.”
Jiles said she started to notice a lot of blood and ran around locking all the doors. Shortly after she realized it was White who was involved in the fight with Nicholas and afterwards he was in shock.
She also testified that she and Nicholas on previous occasions had discussed guns and that she had seen the gun found at the crime scene with Nicholas prior to April 17.
Burleson asked Jiles why she originally told a police officer that she wasn’t sure if Nicholas had a gun to which she responded that she wasn’t in the right frame of mind at the time.
Jiles and White both told the court that Nicholas also had a tattoo of a gun on his body.
Nicholas testified Wednesday and lifted up his shirt to show a tattoo of an ink jar, an ink spill and a writing feather on the side of his body. He said he got the tattoo at Lady Luck Tattoo and Body Piercing in Kona and defended his earlier statement of never having a gun tattoo.
Court will resume at 9:30 a.m. today in Kealakekua for closing arguments before the jury goes into deliberations.