Trio apologizes in Jervis egg incident

No charges will be pressed, lawyer says

Three of four Saint Louis School students involved in an alleged egg-throwing joy ride through Lanikai have written a letter of apology to the school, and their lawyer says police will not pursue charges against any of the boys.

A police spokesman said he was not aware of those decisions.

Attorney Eric Seitz said his clients don't want to testify against Lanikai resident Gerard Jervis, a former Bishop Estate trustee who is accused of ramming his black BMW sedan onto the sport utility vehicle carrying the students and sending it up a telephone pole wire following the alleged March 7 egging of his home.

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Four Saint Louis School students who allegedly threw eggs at a Kailua home and ran off the road during a vigilante pursuit could end up with no criminal convictions.

Police have told the boys' families that they would file no charges for harassment against three of the teenagers investigated for the egging, nor for drunken-driving against the teen behind the wheel of a sport utility vehicle they were riding in the night of March 7, according to attorney Eric Seitz.

Police spokesman Capt. Frank Fujii said he was not aware of those decisions.

Seitz, who is representing three of the students, also said his clients don't want to testify against Lanikai resident Gerard Jervis, a former Bishop Estate trustee, who is accused of ramming his black BMW sedan onto the SUV carrying the teens and sending it up a telephone pole wire. No one was injured in the accident, and Jervis has pleaded not guilty to first-degree criminal property damage, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

"The boys take full responsibility for what they've done and they are not going to get involved in making any allegations against anybody else," Seitz told reporters yesterday. "We don't really feel a necessity to sort out any particular facts that may implicate other people because we don't want to be part of that process."

Jervis' attorney, Paul Cunney, said the boys' decision not to join in the prosecution of Jervis would essentially clear him of any wrongdoing.

"How will they make a case against Jervis if there's no witness?" he asked.

Cunney argues that Jervis hit the SUV only after its driver crashed during a turn, a scenario that he says at least two accident reconstruction experts are prepared to defend in court.

Jim Fulton, spokesman for the city Prosecutor's Office, said laws protecting juvenile offenders prohibit him from commenting on the case.

"Any offense committed by a minor automatically falls under the jurisdiction of our state Family Courts," he said. "Proceedings in the Family Courts are kept strictly confidential."

Seitz acknowledged charges could still be brought against one of the Saint Louis students, a 17-year-old arrested in a prostitution sting Friday in Chinatown for allegedly soliciting a female undercover police officer.

Meanwhile yesterday, Saint Louis President Walter Kirimitsu read an apology letter written by the three students Seitz is representing during a prayer service for the school's 751 students from fourth through 12th grade.

"We humbly ask your forgiveness for tarnishing the reputation of our beloved school," the one-page letter said. "To our classmates, we apologize for embarrassing you, for having you endure the ridicule of others that may not care for our school. We're sorry for the embarrassment and shame that our actions have caused."

But Seitz declined to say whether the students were apologizing because they admitted to throwing eggs at Jervis' house.

"Because of the possibility that there could still be other litigation, we are not going to make public comments on the facts of what's been alleged," he said. "They accept responsibility for being there, they are very embarrassed and apologetic, and they do not want to deflect responsibility on anyone else other than themselves."

Saint Louis, a private Catholic school for boys, announced last week it would discipline the four students, but it has refused to say how and when.

The driver of the car, a senior who signed a letter of intent to accept a football scholarship at the University of Hawaii, is still scheduled to attend the university's training program this summer, Seitz said.