As the Complaint alleges, Poai, a felony repeat offender who has a prior conviction for Assault in the Second Degree, was charged with Assault in the First Degree, which is defined as intentionally or knowingly causing serious bodily injury to another person. Assault in the First Degree is a class B felony offense that is punishable by a maximum penalty of a ten (10) year prison term. If convicted as charged, Poai faces sentencing to a mandatory prison term based on his prior felony conviction.

Review of court records indicate that at the time of the incident, Poai was already pending felony charges for another unrelated matter with bail set at $207,000.00 and felony probation revocation proceedings with bail set at $4,000.00.

Poai is scheduled to make his initial appearance today in Hilo District Court. He remains in custody in lieu of an additional $25,000.00 bail for the February 20th assault incident.

The case was handled by Officer Dustin Chaves and Gyasi Williams, South Hilo Patrol and Detective Casey Cabral, Area I Criminal Investigation Section, Hawai‘i Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Malate.

The charges are merely allegations, and the Defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney remains dedicated to the pursuit of justice with integrity and commitment. Anyone having information to assist local law enforcement should call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.