Pandemic delays trial for Hawaii men charged with hate crime

HONOLULU (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic is delaying a trial for 2 Hawaii males charged with a hate crime for allegedly beating a white man in 2014.

The trial for Kaulana Alo Kaonohi and Levi Aki, Jr. was scheduled for July. They’ve pleaded not responsible.

An indictment final yr charged Kaonohi and Aki with a hate crime after they allegedly attacked a white man who was trying to maneuver into their Maui neighborhood. They resist 10 years in jail if convicted.

Courtroom paperwork mentioned the boys punched, kicked and used a shovel to beat a person who was knocked unconscious. He suffered a concussion and two damaged ribs, prosecutors mentioned.

The defendants are accused of claiming the person was within the “improper place,” didn’t belong there and that “no white man is ever going to stay on this home or neighborhood.”

U.S. District Decide J. Michael Seabright mentioned Friday that he’s involved about Hawaii’s rising COVID-19 circumstances. He mentioned extra time is required to rearrange a jury choice course of with security measures, together with distancing of potential jurors within the Honolulu courtroom the place the trial will happen.

Protection attorneys and prosecutors didn’t object to the postponement. They mentioned they may intention for an August trial date.