Former judge’s son
pleads no contest to assault

The son of a former Circuit Court judge has pleaded no contest to assaulting a passer-by and stealing the car of another man after leaving a Mililani restaurant/bar while intoxicated earlier this year.

Richard Henry Simms, 25, admitted yesterday that there was sufficient evidence to charge him with second-degree terroristic threatening, third-degree assault, driving without a license, fleeing after striking an unattended car and car theft in a series of incidents on Feb. 2 and 3.

He faces maximum penalties of five years in jail and a $10,000 fine for the auto theft when sentenced by Circuit Judge Michael Wilson on March 2.

As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors have agreed to drop a second-degree theft charge that stemmed from the taking of the car.

Defense attorney Rustam Barbee said Simms will ask for a deferral of his no-contest plea. If the request is granted and he stays out of trouble for a specified period, Simms will have an opportunity to erase the charges from his record.

Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee said he will oppose Simms' request and will ask instead that he be sentenced to probation with no jail time.

According to Lee, Simms had been drinking at the Shack, a restaurant/bar, and had been asked to leave.

Outside the bar, Simms saw a man he did not know walking past and allegedly called out to him and threatened to beat him, Lee said.

The man, Justin Ashe, 17, allegedly ignored Simms, but Simms went after him and struck him, he said.

A motorist driving past noticed the altercation and stopped to help, believing Simms, not Ashe, was being attacked. But Simms allegedly jumped into the man's car and sped off. He later crashed the stolen car into another car on Wailawa Street in nearby Waipio Valley before abandoning it. Police found Simms hiding in bushes a couple of blocks away.

Barbee said they do not necessarily agree with the prosecutor's view of the case but that there was enough evidence to charge his client with the offenses. He said there was evidence that two others who accompanied Simms that night assaulted Ashe and that Simms was not directly involved in Ashe's beating. Also, the man whose car was taken indicated another man, not Simms, had taken a swing at him, Barbee said.

Simms has 15 prior arrests including theft, driving while intoxicated and liquor violations.

He was previously granted a deferral of his plea to fourth-degree theft -- a case that was dismissed in July 2000 after he complied with court-imposed conditions.

Simms is the son of former Circuit Judge Sandra Simms, who was denied a second 10-year term earlier this year.