An Oahu grand jury indicted two men Thursday morning in the beating death of 49-year-old Joey Nguyen, who was found at a Kapiolani bus stop last week.
Nicholas Payne, 36, and Chu Lun Aiona, 39, were indicted on a charge of second- degree murder. Bail for each remains at $1 million.
A witness told police she saw Payne and Aiona punch and kick Nguyen in the face and body for about a half-hour on Aug. 28 in an abandoned building near the bus stop.
Before the beating, Nguyen reportedly was on his knees, begging for his life, held in a chokehold, then escaped briefly, running from the two men through the second story of the building.
Aiona turned himself in on Aug. 29, and Payne was arrested Aug. 31.
Pedestrian sitting on highway struck and killed near airfield
A male pedestrian died Wednesday night in Mokuleia near Dillingham Airfield after being hit by a driver heading east on Farrington Highway, police said.
Neither speed nor alcohol appear to be a factor in the collision, police said.
The 44-year-old male driver of the BMW hit “an adult male pedestrian” around 11:15 p.m, police said. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 911 caller reported a male sitting in the roadway, police said.
It was the year’s 45th traffic fatality on Oahu compared with 29 at the same time last year.
