A 52-year-old Hilo man who pleaded not guilty to multiple charges related to the alleged September 2022 kidnapping and subsequent crimes against a 15-year-old Kona girl was in court Thursday for a mental health fitness hearing.
In a packed courtroom, Duncan Kealoha Mahi appeared before Kona District Court Judge Wendy DeWees with his court-appointed attorney, James Bivens, for a hearing to reinstate a mental evaluation.
However, no decision has been made regarding his competency to stand trial, as DeWeese delayed receiving reports submitted by a panel of three psychiatrists until an evidentiary hearing on April 14.
Mahy was indicted on September 21, 2022, on two counts of kidnapping, first-degree terroristic threatening, first-degree robbery, first-degree sexual assault and third-degree sexual assault and one count of trafficking in meth for providing a substance to minor.
The charges stem from a series of alleged crimes that began around 1:30 p.m. on September 16, 2022 in Anaehomalu Bay in South Kohala.
According to police and the victim’s family, the victim was with her boyfriend in Anaehomalu Bay when a “local” man between the ages of 40 and 60 approached the young couple, forced the girl to tie up her boyfriend and then took her at knifepoint.
The kidnapping triggered an AMBER alert on Hawaii Island as county, state, federal and private property searched for the teenager. The victim was able to escape the kidnapper around 11:30 a.m. on September 17, 2022, in Hilo with the help of good Samaritans. Mahi was arrested a few hours later.
According to court documents, Mahi allegedly sexually assaulted the victim and forced her to smoke methamphetamine. Mahi also allegedly tied the victim to her ankle on a bus at his Hilo property until she convinced him to take her food to Hilo.
Although the victim’s name was widely circulated through an AMBER Alert, West Hawaii Today is not including her name in the stories to protect her identity because she is a minor and the victim of a sexual assault.
Mahi remains in custody without bail at the Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of $2 million bail.
If convicted, a Class A felony carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years, while a Class C felony is punishable by up to five years in prison. A conviction for trafficking in methamphetamine carries a minimum sentence of two years in prison.
Prosecutors previously said the state plans to pursue prison terms because of Mahy’s prior felony convictions. If convicted, the indictment states, Mahy could be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of prison without the possibility of parole as a repeat offender.
