An 18-year-old Kalihi man accused of several violent crimes while out on bail will face trial in Circuit Court for allegedly spraying a police officer with her own canister of pepper spray.
On Friday, District Judge James Ashford found probable cause to charge John Downer Jr. with first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer. His bail was confirmed at $100,000.
The case brings to four the number of criminal cases now pending against Downer.
An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment Thursday charging Downer with three firearm charges and resisting arrest for an incident Saturday in Kalihi.
Downer was out on bail for two other cases — one a robbery and the other an assault — when he allegedly sprayed the officer June 4. He was arrested Saturday after allegedly firing a shotgun and threatening someone in Kalihi.
City Deputy Prosecutor Jacob Delaplane said in a statement that the nature and severity of Downer’s crimes escalated every time he was released on bail.
"In just a few short months, Downer has shown that he poses a serious danger to the community," Delaplane said. "We will continue to take every step necessary to protect the safety of the public and ensure that justice is served."
According to a police affidavit, the officer was on routine patrol June 4 shortly after midnight when she saw a large group loitering on North School Street near Kamehameha IV Road. She told them to disperse.
Shortly afterward a city bus driver told her a male from the group had struck his bus and may have caused damage.
The officer was talking to a suspect, and he pushed her hand away, the affidavit said.
The officer then drew her pepper spray but accidentally dropped it. Instead of trying to pick up the canister, the officer took out her baton.
Suddenly she felt a burst of pepper spray on the left side of her face and arm. The officer reported seeing a male holding the canister and tried to arrest him, but he fled.
Witnesses later identified Downer as the man who sprayed the officer.
At about 11 p.m. July 4, Downer approached a man in the parking lot of Kuhio Park Terrace while holding a sawed-off shotgun tucked in his right armpit, court documents said. Downer told the man, "You remember me. You the one who bat my friend!"
The man ran toward the front of the property, and responding officers at the front of the property heard a single shot from the rear of the property.
One officer chased Downer and saw him holding a duffel bag that was later found next to a fence and containing a sawed-off shotgun.
Police checked the area and found Downer hiding in Kalihi Stream.
At the time, Downer was out on bail for an alleged robbery in January and an alleged assault in March.
According to police affidavits, Downer was with a group of males that tried to rob a man talking on a cellphone near North School Street in January. The victim said Downer approached him and struck him in the face and continued to strike him as he fell.
The group tried to take the man’s belongings but fled when the victim tried to stand up. Witnesses identified Downer, and he was arrested in February, charged with robbery, and posted $11,000 bail.
In March, Downer struck a boy in the face with a baseball bat, causing a major laceration, court documents said.
Downer was with a group of six males who approached the boy with bats, sticks and pipes near a middle school in Kalihi.
Downer was charged with second-degree assault and was released after posting $30,000 bail.
