KEALAKEKUA — A 3rd Circuit Court judge has decided to keep a teen accused of sexual assault in jail until all modifications to a bail order can be made.
Samuel Latrik was arrested on a bench warrant Tuesday after violating the terms of his release on bail by not checking in with his social worker at Hawaii Intake Service Center. The 18-year-old was released on $25,000 bail in February on charges stemming from a 2016 rape case at Old Kona Airport.
During Thursday’s bail hearing, Judge Robert D.S. Kim wanted to modify the bail order to impose a geographical ban, a curfew and electronic monitoring.
“I want to ensure the public is safe,” Kim said Thursday. “He’s not leaving jail until this is all set.”
Latrik was arrested in January on $50,000 bail and charged as the second suspect in the assault against a woman at Old Airport on Sept. 3, 2016. According to the Hawaii Police Department, two boys approached a woman, punched and sexually assaulted her. Police added the boys fled when confronted by an unidentified person.
Kim later reduced Latrik’s bail to $25,000.
Latrik is one of two suspects connected to the sex assault. Latrik’s co-defendant, Tyrone Sigrah, recently pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault, second-degree assault, kidnapping and second-degree robbery.
Sigrah is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 18.
Fe Hoota, a pre-trial social worker at Hawaii Intake Service Center, testified that she conducted a bail study on Latrik and was assigned to supervise his case. She stated in court that Latrik may only be appropriate under GPS monitoring. However, she was not aware of what equipment was available and would have to get back to the judge.
Kim continued the bail hearing to Aug. 10 for Hoota to find out what equipment was available. Until then, the judge kept Latrik at his current status, in custody on no bail.
During the hearing, Hoota was called to the stand and asked questions about what her check-ins with Latrik were like and when he missed appointments.
According to the bail order, part of the conditions of the teen’s release was to check in twice a month face-to-face with his social worker at Hawaii Intake Service Center and call every week on Wednesday.
Hoota stated she would explain to Latrik when and how he was supposed to check in, what he was supposed to say when he checked in and given a three-month calendar starting in January with the dates written on it indicating when he needed to touch base.
Every time Latrik left, Hoota said, she had him repeat everything he needed to do back to her. The teen’s sister or father would also be present at these meetings and the same information would be given to them.
While a Marshallese translator has been used in courtroom proceedings on the case, Hoota has never used one in her meetings with Latrik.
“I did not feel the need to request an interpreter in any encounters with Mr. Latrik,” she stated.
Since her first initial meeting with Latrik in February, Hoota said, the teen missed his second office visit and visits on April 4 and May 4.
The social worker told the court she had no contact with Latrik from June 27 to July 17. Hoota had left phone messages on July 10 and 19 with the teen’s sister and dad.
Defense Counsel James Biven questioned Hoota whether she attempted to make contact with Latrik during that time.
“You were well aware of his violations,” Hoota stated to Biven. “I called you.”
After Hoota stepped down, Kim said he was concerned an interpreter was not being used at the meetings with the social worker. However, he added that Hoota did the right thing by filing a revocation of bail when Latrik stopped checking in.
“I’m not saying he doesn’t have a limited understanding of English,” the judge said of Latrik.
He added that it’s impossible to know what’s going on in the teen’s mind, which is why a Marshallese interpreter is always present during court proceedings.
A 17-year-old juvenile at the time of the crime, the family court judge waived jurisdiction to 3rd Circuit Court in January where Latrik would face charges as an adult. A Kona grand jury indicted the teen in January on three counts of first-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, kidnapping, second-degree robbery, first-degree terroristic threatening and sexual assault.
Latrik is scheduled for a jury trial on Oct. 23.