A 28-year-old Pahoa man and another man beat a 52-year-old Hawaiian Beaches man unconscious and stole the man’s car from his carport in the early morning hours of Jan. 5, according to court documents filed by police.
Spencer AhNee is charged with first-degree robbery and two counts of second-degree assault for the incident.
Police are seeking the other suspect in the case, 29-year-old Ikaika Renken-Gonsalves of Pahoa. He’s described as 6-feet tall, 145 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and dark complexion.
The victim told police he was in his carport at about 12:08 a.m. when Renken-Gonsalves, an acquaintance, walked up his driveway and asked, “Where’s my money?”
The man told Renken-Gonsalves he didn’t owe him money and asked him to leave, documents state. At that point, the victim saw another man he identified only as “Spencer,” a friend of Renken-Gonsalves’ who the victim later identified from a photographic lineup.
The victim said Renken-Gonsalves grabbed him and dragged him to the rear of his home and struck him multiple times in the head and chest with his fists, while AhNee beat him on the face and rib cage with an instrument he believed to be a metal baseball bat, according to documents.
The beating broke a bone in the victim’s face and allegedly continued until he lost consciousness.
Documents state that when the victim regained consciousness, his entire body was in pain and his 2014 Nissan Altima was missing from the carport. He reportedly told police he thought he had the keys with him at the time of the attack.
A neighbor witnessed the attack and called 911, but couldn’t identify the assailants, according to documents.
AhNee, who denied having anything to do with the incident, according to documents, appeared Monday in Hilo District Court.
Judge Bruce Larson denied a request by AhNee’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jonas Krave, to release AhNee on his own recognizance or under court supervision without cash bail, as well as a request to reduce AhNee’s $14,000 bail.
Larson ordered AhNee, who has no prior felony convictions, to return to court at 2 p.m. today for a preliminary hearing.
AhNee remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
Police Lt. Rio Amon-Wilkins of the Hilo Criminal Investigations Section said Tuesday the victim’s car hadn’t been recovered.
Anyone with information on Renken-Gonsalves’ whereabouts is asked to call the police nonemergency line at 935-3311 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.