Attack cases headed for trial

LIHU’E – Kaua’i District Court Judge Trudy Senda yesterday ruled probable cause that felonies were committed in an attack on gay campers at Polihale State Park last Saturday.

Senda sent attempted-murder charges against Eamonn de Carolan, 18, and Orion Macomber, 19, to Fifth Circuit Court for possible trials, barring plea-bargains.

The men are also charged with terorristic threatening in an alleged attack that took place between 3 and 4 a.m.

The defendants’ next scheduled appearances in court are slated for June 19.

Senda denied a defense motion to reduce the defendants’ bail.

Bail remains at $250,000, and both defendants remain in Kaua’i Community Correctional Center.

De Carolan’s attorney, Mark Zenger of Honolulu, tried to be philosophical after Senda’s ruling. Zenger had argued that the evidence offered by the prosecution didn’t support attempted-murder charges.

“Probable cause is a low standard. The judge could have ruled either way. Yes, I think the case is way overcharged,” Zenger said.

Assuming de Carolan and Macomber “did everything” (attempts were made to set two tents on fire, and someone swung a stick at a camper, according to authorities), the charges should be “criminal property damage in the first degree, which is a class B felony punishable by a maximum of 10 years in jail,” Zenger said.

But Craig De Costa, Kaua’i County chief deputy prosecutor, said the judge’s ruling “was appropriate. I think the charges reflect the evidence and the statement of intent by the defendants.”

Prosecutors have hammered on the shouted anti-gay slurs reported by some of the victims, including “Die, faggot, die” and “Jesus told me to kill you.”

And although none of the witnesses could identify Macomber or de Carolan in court, witnesses did describe clothing similar to what the defendants were wearing the night of the attacks.

One of two girls with the defendants that night, Dominique Kanealii, testified that she, another young woman, Allison Fishburn, and de Carolan had been at the park the day before drinking beer from 1:30 in the afternoon until 10 p.m., when they went to pick up Macomber.

Kaneali said the trio had 36 beers and smoked marijuana, then went to a grocery store and bought a case of beer.

None of the quartet is 21, but they got someone near the store to purchase the beer for them, Kaneali said.

She testified the girls went down the beach about 1:30 a.m. Saturday and went to sleep. But she said de Carolan and Macomber weren’t ready to sleep and headed back up in the general direction of the campground where the attacks took place.

Kaua’i County Police officer Darla Abattiello, the first officer on the scene in response to a 9-1-1 call from the campers, found Macomber Saturday morning, sleeping not far from the scene of the attacks that had taken place a few hours before, and with a kerosene can near him.

De Carolan was found nearby, also asleep.

She said that although de Carolan was quiet once he was taken into custody, Macomber screamed profanities, complained about his handcuffs and “we could not do anything to please him.”

Abattiello, the first officer to write a report, had entered preliminary charges of criminal property damage. But those charges were upgraded to attempted murder by detective Roy Asher, who took over the crime scene investigation.

He testified Friday that he took into consideration “the totality of the evidence” in making his decision.

The defendants were joined for their probable cause hearing but will now, in all likelihood, be split and go through the system up to and including trial separately.

Prosecutors would not comment about a possible plea bargain for one or both of the defendants, including the lesser charges if one agrees to testify against the other.

Macomber is represented by Peter Morimoto of Lihu’e.

Neither Macomber or de Carolan have adult criminal records.

Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and dwilken@pulitzer.net