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Victim says he recalls little of 2003 beating

A visiting California man who was severely beaten and was in a coma for several days says he cannot remember how he ended up in a hospital in May 2003.

Ivan Kaloyanov, then 21, recalls only being head-butted by a bald male outside the Blue Tropix nightclub, and a friend grabbing him and both running across the street.

"Next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital a few days later," he said.

Trial for Johnston Kapua, 31, charged with second-degree attempted murder, opened in Circuit Court yesterday. Deputy Prosecutor Barry Kemp said Kapua head-butted Kaloyanov outside the nightclub and fractured his skull and face by stomping on his head.

Kapua's attorney said his client participated in the assault but is not guilty of attempted murder. If convicted, Kapua faces life imprisonment with possibility of parole. The trial is continuing.

Man ruled fit for trial in attack on jogger

A Virginia man who allegedly attacked a runner has been declared mentally fit to go to trial.

Circuit Judge Richard Pollack ruled yesterday that proceedings against Robert Allen O'Neal can resume after a three-member panel ruled him fit for trial.

O'Neal is accused of attacking a female jogger near Kapiolani Park last April. He tried to drag her into an unlit area before she scared him away with her screams. An officer who heard the screams captured O'Neal after a chase.

Trial is set for the week of April 4. O'Neal remains in custody, unable to post $100,000 bail. The bail was initially set at $35,000 but increased based on statements he made to police.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

CENTRAL OAHU

Wahiawa homeless man beaten up

A 36-year-old homeless man suffered a partially fractured jaw and multiple cuts after an acquaintance allegedly attacked him with a beer bottle and an X-acto type of knife on Tuesday.

Police said both the victim and the suspect, 32, had been staying in tents near a bridge in Wahiawa when they got into an argument about the campsite being too messy. Police arrested the suspect for investigation of second-degree assault.

WAIKIKI

15-year-old in hospital after stolen-car crash

A 15-year-old girl was in critical condition after she crashed the stolen car she was driving into a fire hydrant and street light on Ala Wai early yesterday, police said.

Police said that at about 1:43 a.m. the suspect was seen driving a stolen black Honda Civic while traveling Ewa-bound on Ala Wai at a high rate of speed. She lost control of the car and veered onto the makai curb near Seaside Avenue, police said.

She was taken by ambulance to the Queen's Medical Center in serious condition but was later downgraded to critical condition.

Police said speed was a factor in the crash and that the girl was not wearing a seat belt.

LEEWARD OAHU

3-year-old is attacked by family's Rottweilers

A 3-year-old boy was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in serious yet stable condition early yesterday after being attacked by his family's dogs, according to police.

Police said the boy had wandered outside his home at Waiomea Street in Honokai Hale about 4:15 a.m. and was bitten by one or more of the five Rottweilers the family owns. Police said the boy suffered multiple lacerations and abrasions to his head and neck area and was taken by ambulance to Queen's.