Judge’s son
accused in beatingAn indictment arises from an
alleged assault and auto theft
The son of a circuit judge has been indicted on charges of assault and car theft stemming from a confrontation last month in Mililani.
Richard Simms, 25, son of Judge Sandra Simms, was charged yesterday by an Oahu grand jury with second-degree terroristic threatening, third-degree assault, car theft, driving without a license, driving while intoxicated and fleeing the scene of an accident. He faces a maximum five years in prison for each of the most serious offenses: fleeing the scene and car theft.
According to prosecutors, 17-year-old Justin Ashe was walking home in Mililani about 11 p.m. Feb. 2 when he passed Simms, who had been asked earlier to leave the Shack Mililani, a neighborhood restaurant and bar.
Simms allegedly swore at the boy, called him racial slurs, taunted him to come back and said he was going to inflict serious bodily harm to him, Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee told the court yesterday.
Simms is African American. Ashe is Caucasian.
Ashe ignored Simms. Two of Simms' friends who were with him at the time also told Simms to leave the boy alone because he had not done anything, Lee said.
But Simms caught up with Ashe and began punching and choking him, Lee said.
Simms' friends pulled him off the boy, but Simms attacked the boy again and bit his ear. As the boy was on the ground, a motorist stopped -- believing that Simms was the one under assault -- and went to his aid. When the motorist asked Simms' friends what was going on, Simms allegedly jumped into the man's car and drove off.
Simms allegedly crashed the stolen car into another car on Wailawa Street in nearby Waipio Valley before abandoning it. He was later found hiding in bushes two or three blocks away.
Simms, of Mililani, has 15 prior arrests -- including theft, driving while intoxicated and liquor violations -- but no convictions. Circuit Judge Richard Perkins confirmed bail at $10,000 yesterday.
Judge Simms, whose 10-year term expires in May and who has asked to be retained, declined comment, according to a Judiciary spokeswoman. Richard Simms could not be reached for comment.
Lee said prosecution of Richard Simms "had nothing to do with the fact that his mother is who she is," adding, "It had everything to do with the fact that an innocent bystander was accosted."
Police initially responded to a report of a car crash and not the assault. The two incidents apparently were not linked until friends of Ashe's family contacted a police major expressing concerns that the assault case was not being investigated, Lee said.
Police Maj. Daniel Hanagami, former head of the white-collar crimes detail, took it upon himself to investigate the assault and linked it to the car theft, which apparently had been investigated separately, Lee said. "He didn't neglect his duties, but investigated the case, went beyond the call and should be commended for that."
An indictment was expedited in this case because the witnesses to the assault and the owners of the stolen car are in the military and are expected to be deployed shortly to the Middle East, Lee said. Ashe is currently undergoing basic military training on the mainland.
The teenager, who lives on the mainland, had been staying with his ill mother in Mililani before he was to leave for basic training.