A 34-year-old Puna man police say posed as a police officer, entered a woman’s apartment and raped and robbed her almost 15 years ago pleaded to lesser charges. ADVERTISING A 34-year-old Puna man police say posed as a police officer,
A 34-year-old Puna man police say posed as a police officer, entered a woman’s apartment and raped and robbed her almost 15 years ago pleaded to lesser charges.
A 34-year-old Puna man police say posed as a police officer, entered a woman’s apartment and raped and robbed her almost 15 years ago pleaded to lesser charges.
In a deal with prosecutors, John Douglas Mercado Jr. pleaded no contest Friday to third-degree sex assault and second-degree burglary. Both are Class C felonies punishable by up to five years in prison. Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura set sentencing for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 5.
Mercado originally was charged with impersonating a police officer, first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, kidnapping, four counts of first-degree sex assault, three counts of third-degree sex assault, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The most severe of those charges are Class A felonies punishable by up to 20 years behind bars.
Police say Mercado identified himself as a police officer to gain entry to an Olona Street apartment in Hilo shortly before 8 a.m. Nov. 11, 2000. Once inside, he reportedly threatened the 27-year-old woman resident at gunpoint, demanded money, raped her and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The case went cold, but Mercado was indicted Dec. 15, 2010, after the FBI’s Combined DNA Indexing System (CODIS) pointed to him as the suspect, police said after the indictment. Police Capt. Randall Medeiros, then-commander of the Hilo Criminal Investigation Division, said at the time it was the first Big Island case solved by the federal DNA database.
The victim since has returned to her native South Korea.
Mercado has two prior felony convictions, according to court records. In 2004, he was sentenced to a year in jail and five years probation for a 2003 food court robbery in Hilo. He also was sentenced to a year in jail and five years probation in 2006 for promoting prison contraband.
Mercado is free on $25,000 bail pending sentencing.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
