Release request denied for suspect in H-1 attack

A man accused of stabbing three other motorists in a confrontation on the H-1 freeway in Waipahu last summer entered a state courtroom in a wheelchair Tuesday to ask a judge to release him into the custody of his wife or reduce his $2 million bail pending his trial.

The judge denied the request.

Mark Char, 58, is awaiting trial for attempted murder and two counts of assault for a stabbing that was the apparent result of road rage. It happened Aug. 1 during the afternoon rush hour in the westbound lanes of the freeway near the Kunia offramp. Char’s trial is scheduled for May.

Defense lawyer Shawn Luiz told Circuit Judge Dean Ochiai that Char suffered injuries during the freeway incident that caused a massive infection that put him in the hospital for nearly eight weeks and continues to affect his health.

“There was an independent eyewitness that said that my client was repeatedly punched and ultimately my client ended up on the ground. He sustained injuries while he was fighting for his life on the ground,” he said.

Luiz said since the incident Char has lost 50 pounds, developed medical complications with his diabetes and sustained a bedsore that developed into an open-wound ulcer from the weeks he spent in the hospital. He said Char would like to be released from pretrial detention at Oahu Community Correctional Center to give him the opportunity to seek the medical care he needs on his own.

Deputy Prosecutor Kristine Yoo said she does not question the seriousness of Char’s medical condition. But she told Ochiai that she does not think Char’s wife is a suitable candidate to supervise her husband and assure that he abides by whatever release or bail conditions the court might impose, in light of the fact that she was her husband’s passenger during the Aug. 1 incident.

Ochiai agreed and noted that Char had been free on $50,000 bail for assault and criminal property damage at the time of the freeway stabbing. The incident that led to the assault and criminal property damage charges occurred when Char was on $25,000 bail for firearm and threatening charges.

Both of those cases are still pending, as is another one for harassment and reckless endangering, and a negligent-injury case for which Char was convicted in 2006. It was overturned on appeal.