KAILUA-KONA — Defense counsel for a well-known Hawaiian musician accused of sexual assault and kidnapping has filed a motion for acquittal in 3rd Circuit Court.
The proposed judgment of acquittal and order of conditional release in the case involving Keoki Kahumoku will be heard this afternoon before Judge Robert D.S. Kim. Kahumoku, who is on supervised release, faces two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of kidnapping.
Last week, Deputy Public Defender Wendy DeWeese filed the motion and submitted stipulated facts for a bench trial.
“The defendant does not contest the factual allegations in the indictment as to the above charges,” the court filing states.
However, the filing goes on to indicate that Kahumoku does not admit to having the requisite state of mind for committing the offenses, the capacity at the time of the offenses to know right from wrong, nor the capacity at the time of the offenses to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.
According to court documents, three doctors examined Kahumoku. In their opinion, the Hilo man suffers from bipolar disorder with periods of depression and mania and also has a history of substance abuse.
Dr. Welli Weiss was one of the doctors who reviewed Kahumoku. In her letter to the court, she notes that the time of the alleged offenses, Kahumoku was unmedicated and experiencing symptoms of mania.
Weiss also concluded that the defendant was “acutely mentally ill at the time of the alleged offenses and that the symptoms of his illness were exacerbated by his alcohol and drug use.
Yet, Weiss concludes Kahumoku was penally responsible, apparently based on the complainant’s version of events.
Charges stem from incidents that occurred on May 6 and 7 in 2015 in the Ka‘u District. The victim’s statement is included in the stipulated facts.
The victim identified Kahumoku as a family friend. On the first day of the reported assault, she states, Kahumoku came to her residence at about 8:30 a.m. and began banging on the door, repeating her name.
The victim statement indicates that she saw Kahumoku acting strange and scratching himself in the facial area with his hands. She did let him in the house.
Once inside, the suspect pulled the victim into her bedroom where the alleged assault occurred.
According to the victim’s statement, Kahumoku returned the next day and assaulted her again.