A Kona District Court judge on Tuesday increased bail for a 30-year-old Kailua-Kona man charged with alcohol- and drug-related offenses following an alleged hit-and-run in Kailua Village that injured a 13-year-old girl.
Bail for Matthew Allen Marso is now set at $3,025, according to court records. The Kona resident made his initial appearance Tuesday before Kona District Court Judge Michael Udovic. The increase in bail followed a motion by Marso’s public defender Frederick Macapinlac to maintain the previously set bail amount of $2,275. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Alicia Mears requested the judge increase bail for Marso to $10,000.
During Tuesday’s court appearance, Marso also evoked his right to a preliminary hearing where the state will work to show it has sufficient evidence to support the charges filed against Marso in connection with the incident that occurred Saturday in Kailua-Kona. Udovic slated the hearing for Wednesday afternoon.
Marso is charged with driving under the influence of an intoxicant, second-degree negligent injury, failure to have motor vehicle insurance, driving without a license, third-degree promoting a detrimental drug, and leaving the scene of an accident involving bodily injury in connection with the Saturday afternoon incident, according to court records.
The Nissan SUV Marso was driving Saturday afternoon jumped a curb near the intersection of Hualalai Road and Alii Drive, striking the girl, according to police and witness accounts. The girl, who was from Plano, Texas, was treated and released the same day. Witnesses say Marso was trying to leave the scene when Kailua-Kona gallery owner Joshua Lambus rode up on a skateboard, yanked open the door of the SUV and held Marso until police arrived.
Lambus had followed behind the SUV north on Alii Drive from Magic Sands, saying the vehicle was swerving and narrowly missing pedestrians and a bicyclist. Lambus stayed behind the vehicle until he reached his shop along Alii Drive and switched the car for a skateboard to continue the pursuit. He arrived on scene just as the girl was hit.