A Maui judge ordered the maximum five-year prison sentence for a man who delivered a fatal punch to a stranger.
David Homalon Jr., 28, was convicted of second-degree assault by a jury in January, the Maui News reported. He originally faced a more serious manslaughter charge in the death of Fabian Martinez, 45, of Haiku.
“You did absolutely nothing to try and help him that day,” Judge Richard Bissen told Homalon on Friday. “You only thought of yourself at that moment.”
According to testimony in the trial, Homalon and two friends were sitting on the sidewalk outside Mana Foods in Paia on the evening of July 23, 2015, when Martinez walked by. Homalon asked Martinez, “Were you talking to my girl?” A minute or two into the conversation, Homalon punched Martinez in his lower left jaw, according to the witness.
Martinez fell back from the curb, hitting the back of his head on the asphalt. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced brain-dead two days later at Maui Memorial Medical Center.
An autopsy showed that he died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
KAUAI
Community rallies in cleanup of Kilauea Agriculture Center
KILAUEA, Kauai >> More than 30 volunteers showed up Saturday to plant seeds and pull weeds at the 75-acre Kilauea Community Agricultural Center.
“We’re trying to get community members to be a part of the community garden,” said Alvin “Bino” Castelo, center president. The workday was coordinated by the Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay.
“The agricultural park is an experiment and a forerunner of what we’d like to see happen on the whole island,” said Tsajon von Lixfeld, community service director for the club. “We want to see small communities getting together and creating a plot, an area, where people can have a place to grow plants and exchange plants. The idea, ultimately, is sustainability for the island.”
The club aims to raise funds to eventually build a pavilion and gazebo at the agricultural park to host a farmers market, family gatherings and other community events.