KONA, HAWAII – Richard Lopez, a 67-year-old man from California, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for a domestic stabbing that occurred at the Waikoloa Beach Marriot Resort on September 1, 2022. Lopez was visiting Hawai‘i Island with his 64-year-old girlfriend of seventeen years when he attacked her with a steak knife, stabbing her multiple times.

Lopez remained in custody since his arrest in lieu of $1,000,000 bail. He appeared in Kona Circuit Court on March 14, 2025, for sentencing. After reviewing the presentence investigation report and hearing arguments from both sides, The court sentenced Lopez to the maximum penalty of a twenty-year prison term for the offense of Attempted Manslaughter. The court further ordered a mandatory minimum sentence of six years and eight months.

Attempted Manslaughter is classified as a Class A felony in Hawai’i, carrying a maximum penalty of twenty years imprisonment.

The case took an unexpected turn on December 27, 2024, when Lopez, initially charged with Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, asserted the affirmative defense of Attempted Manslaughter after entering a “Guilty” plea to the charge of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree. Lopez argued that he was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of the incident. The court accepted this submission, leading to the reduction in charge and subsequent sentencing for Attempted Manslaughter.

The investigation was initiated by the South Kohala Patrol and further investigated by Detectives Scott A. Dewey and Brandon Mansur from the Area II Juvenile Aid Section, along with members of the Area II Criminal Investigation Section of the Hawai‘i Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Kaua Jackson and Kate Perazich.