Photo provided by Jay Waller
Jay Waller lies in a coma after a beating. He suffered multiple
facial fractures, a crushed forehead and brain injuries. His orbital
sinus exploded when his right eyeball was forced into his head.
Jury acquits
in tourist beating
A Californian attacked on Halloween
By Linda Hosek
is ‘speechless’ at the trial result
Star-BulletinJay Waller isn't going to hold the state of Hawaii responsible for his near-fatal Halloween beating, an attack that left him with metal plates in his face and a brain injury that ended plans for dental school this year. But the 24-year-old California resident was stunned by the state's judicial system, which acquitted the man accused of attempted murder in the Kaimuki attack that put him in a coma for three weeks.
"I was speechless," he said yesterday after the three-week trial of Palolo resident Genero Gualdarama, 36. "I couldn't believe it."
A Circuit Court jury acquitted Gualdarama of the charge and of the lesser offenses of first-degree assault, second-degree assault and second-degree reckless endangering.
Jurors, however, couldn't reach a verdict on the charge of being an accomplice to third-degree assault.
Deputy Prosecutor Barry Kemp declined comment on whether the state would retry Gualdarama on the misdemeanor assault charge, which carries a sentence of up to a year in jail.
If convicted of attempted murder, Gualdarama would have faced life in prison with parole.
Police said the attack stemmed from a traffic scuffle in which Gualdarama allegedly pulled Waller from his Jeep at Waialae Avenue and St. Louis Heights Drive and beat and kicked him.
Defense attorney Neal Kugiya said Waller's Jeep ran a stop sign and almost struck the van Gualdarama was riding in. He said jurors had to weigh conflicting descriptions of the suspects who attacked Waller. He also said witnesses didn't identify Gualdarama.
It was the second trial in six months focusing on the beating of a visitor -- and the second time that jurors did not convict, as charged.
The state had charged Rodney Balbirona, 18, and Darrell Ortiz, 22, with first-degree robbery in the Sunset Beach beating last year of James Boreczky, a Chicago police officer. Jurors in December convicted the two of lesser offenses, causing Boreczky to lash out against Hawaii. Boreczky suffered multiple fractures and also required metal plates to reconstruct his face.
"I was hoping the verdict from the Chicago police officer would help me," Waller said. Waller, who was dressed up as a '60s greaser for Halloween, said he has no memory of the incident.
He said he was a good driver, had never had an accident and didn't run stop signs. But he said he may have done a "rolling stop" and may have been driving too close to the van.
Waller said he was told the van pulled over twice to let him pass, but he didn't. He said he was told someone in the van said, "What's your problem?" and that he smiled, leading to a chase.
But he also said he believed that Gualdarama beat him, based on state testimony. "He was turned in by his uncle, who was the driver of the car," he said. "How much more evidence do you need?"
Waller said he graduated from Yale University in 1995, spent a year working as an expert skier and had two dental school interviews scheduled when he came to Hawaii for a short visit.
He said he suffered multiple facial fractures, an exploded orbital sinus when his right eyeball was forced into his head and a crushed forehead. Waller said plastic surgeons put a plate in his cheek, rebuilt his eye orbits and rebuilt the right side of his mouth.
"I was very close to dying."
Waller said his traumatic brain injury initially altered his speech and mental activity, but that he has progressed faster than doctors anticipated. He said the effects include short-term memory loss, problem-solving capability and attention span.
Waller, who returned for the trial, said he has visited many of the people who helped him. "I do not hold anything against Hawaii," he said. "I love the islands. I just ran into some bad apples."
