Man pleads not guilty
in hostage incident

A hearing tomorrow will determine
whether David Field goes to trial

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By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com

HILO >> A Big Island man accused of holding a Hilo hotel guest hostage for 6 1/2 hours Thursday night pleaded not guilty yesterday to eight charges in South Hilo District Court.

Judge Sandra Schutte set a preliminary hearing for 2 p.m. tomorrow for David Field, 33, of Hilo, to determine if there is enough evidence to hold him for trial. He is being held without bail.

According to a police affidavit, Field crashed through three glass windows as he climbed the exterior balconies of the Hawaii Naniloa, resulting in a charge of criminal property damage.

On the eighth floor of the hotel, Field held a guest in a room at gunpoint, committing kidnapping, burglary, terroristic threatening and two firearm violations, the affidavit said.

At one point, Field demanded that the hotel guest give Field his belt, which he used as a tourniquet to stop bleeding from one leg caused by crashing through the windows, the affidavit said. The demand for the belt led to a robbery charge.

The incident started at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. At 1 a.m. Friday, Field released the hotel guest. He gave himself up at 9:45 a.m.

Police also found plastic bags, containers and syringes in the hotel room Field had checked into with a 19-year-old woman, leading to a drug paraphernalia charge.