LIHU‘E — Kristofer Dwight Bush, 33, of Koloa, appeared in court Wednesday on charges related to a double stabbing at an ‘Ele‘ele home that left two injured.
Prosecutors alleged that Bush went to the house his girlfriend was staying at “in a rage” and brandishing a knife Sunday night.
“The whole family was there,” said Deputy Prosecutor Ramsey Ross. “He cut his girlfriend’s brother’s hand, got a hold of his girlfriend, made a slashing motion with the knife and punctured her chest.”
Both victims, identified by the Kaua‘i Police Department as a 26-year-old Koloa woman and a 21-year-old ‘Ele‘ele man, were transferred to Wilcox Medical Center and have since been released.
Bush was apprehended the following day in Koke‘e, and held at the KPD cellblock.
Judge Michael Soong read the nine charges to the defendant Wednesday, which include second-degree attempted murder, assault in the first and second degree, abuse of family or household members (three counts), resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle and criminal property damage.
At the arraignment, Ross requested a change of bail from $100,000 to $500,000.
The original bail was set at $100,000 based on what Ross described as “essentially a coding error” in which Bush was inaccurately charged with murder rather than attempted murder.
Since probable cause could not be established for the erroneous murder charge, a lower bail was set.
Soong agreed to Ross’s request to increase bail, saying that Bush presented “a risk of danger to the community,” over an objection from Deputy Public Defender Dena Renti Cruz. He ordered a bail study be conducted.
If he is unable to post the $500,000 bail, Bush will be transferred to the Kaua‘i Community Correctional Center in Wailua.
The attempted murder charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison with the possibility of parole. The first- and second-degree assault charges carry a maximum penalty of five or 10 years, respectively, and family abuse charges carry a maximum penalty of one year.
Court documents show that Bush previously served one year probation for a 2010 charge of third-degree assault.
The court set a preliminary hearing for Monday, April 18.
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Guthrie Scrimgeour, reporter, can be reached at 647-0329 or gscrimgeour@thegardenisland.com.
