Trial begins for
former UH student’s
golfing stunt

The defense contends that the
damage does not constitute a felony

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By Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.com

A former University of Hawaii student who hit a golf ball from the back of his dormitory, striking an Iolani player in the mouth during the state softball championship earlier this year, does not dispute that he did it.

But he contends the extent of injury he caused star player Amy Taniguchi does not amount to "serious bodily injury," which is a Class C felony punishable by a maximum five years in jail.

Daniel Copperud, 19, of Minnesota, waived his right to a jury trial yesterday and went on trial before Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto on a second-degree assault charge: recklessly causing serious bodily injury.

Taniguchi, 17, a senior at Iolani and a standout player, was playing the last game of her high school career against Baldwin High on Feb. 2 at the UH softball field. Iolani had taken the title for the last two consecutive years. Taniguchi was hoping to walk on at the University of Hawaii this fall.

The center fielder was standing in the dugout during the seventh inning when she was hit in the left side of the mouth by the golf ball, knocking out a tooth, which was never found, and loosening the top row of teeth. She was taken out of the game, and Iolani lost.

Deputy Prosecutor Wayne Tashima said in opening statements that Copperud and a dorm mate planned on hitting golf balls from the grassy area behind Johnson Hall facing the quarry.

But Copperud decided to hit a shot toward the game "to get a reaction from the field," and then waited until the players had taken the field before hitting his second shot, Tashima said. Copperud apparently stopped hitting when he could not see where the second ball landed.

Taniguchi's treating doctors cannot say with certainty how seriously her teeth have been impacted or how long she will be impaired until her mouth completely heals and she is fitted with an implant, Tashima said.

But the state contends Taniguchi has suffered protracted loss or impairment -- one of the legal definitions of "serious bodily injury" -- since the incident, when her ability to chew normally was taken away from her.

She cannot bite down with her back teeth and has difficulty chewing. She chews only on one side. She has to wear braces to hold the loosened teeth in place until they heal on their own.

"She can't bite an apple, eat beef jerky or pull (beef jerky) with her teeth," Tashima said later.

She also feels pain in her mouth periodically.

Defense Attorney Victor Bakke described Copperud as a "straight-A student who did a very stupid thing."

While the defense concedes Copperud's actions were reckless, they do not agree that Taniguchi suffered "serious" bodily injury.

Bakke characterized serious bodily injury as similar to someone getting their eye poked out or being paralyzed.

"Missing teeth and (temporary) braces" is not what lawmakers meant when they wrote the law on recklessly causing serious bodily injury, Bakke said.

At best, Copperud is guilty of third-degree assault, recklessly causing bodily injury, a misdemeanor, he said.

Copperud has since been kicked out of the university. Taniguchi's family filed a lawsuit against Copperud about a month after the incident.

The trial resumes tomorrow.