A 22-year-old Hilo man accused of a series of violent assaults on his 23-year-old girlfriend has been released from custody by a judge without posting cash bail.
According to court documents filed by police, the victim reported that her boyfriend, Hunta Shaylo Wai‘oli Santos, assaulted her in the parking lot of Puainako Town Center after her debit card had been declined at O’Reilly Auto Parts.
Santos allegedly started yelling at the woman, then grabbed her by the hair, slammed her head against the dashboard, then slapped her face about three times. He then pulled into a parking stall by Subway, documents state, grabbed her again by the hair and both punched and slapped her face multiple times.
The woman reported that Santos continued to hit her with elbows and punches as he drove from Puainako to Wainaku Street, and choked her with one hand, according to documents.
Santos then allegedly pulled over on Wainaku Street, exited the vehicle and started to throw the woman’s personal belongings out of the car. The woman then locked the doors to the car while Santos was outside, but the passenger side window was partially down, and Santos reportedly grabbed her again by the hair and slammed her head against the front passenger side window.
At that point, according to documents, the victim noticed bystanders nearby and got out of the car — and Santos allegedly grabbed her hair again, slammed her to the ground, climbed atop her and started strangling her with both hands for about 10 seconds, restricting her breathing. He then reportedly dragged her by her hair to the front of the car and slammed her head and shoulder against the front left bumper. The victim said Santos continued to kick and punch her in the face until a bystander intervened.
The woman called 911 after she and Santos were separated, documents state, as Santos continued to threaten her.
Santos ordered her into the vehicle and they drove home, documents state. The woman convinced Santos she was going to the hospital and drove to the Wainaku Scenic Point off Highway 19, where she met with officers and gave them her statement.
The victim then drove herself to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where she was diagnosed with a separated shoulder plus bruising and abrasions along her neck. She was treated and released.
Santos was arrested, advised of his rights and requested a lawyer, documents state. He was charged with domestic abuse aggravated by strangulation, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment upon conviction, and four counts of misdemeanor domestic abuse.
His bail was set at $18,000.
At Santos’ initial appearance Monday, Family Court Judge Darien Nagata noted the recommendation by the Intake Service Center was that Santos be freed on supervised release, a form of cashless bail, and Deputy Public Defender Jauwon Barron requested Santos be freed. Deputy Prosecutor Nathan Wersal requested conditions, noting the attack was public, it occurred in broad daylight and the victim suffered a separated shoulder.
Nagata granted the supervised release with conditions including that he stay 100 yards away from the complainant, that he not threaten or harm her, that he not own, use or possess firearms or live ammunition and that he obtain substance abuse and anger management assessments.
The judge ordered Santos to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 11.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.