Pahoa man ‘relieved’ by lesser verdict in stabbing case
A 42-year-old Pahoa man was convicted Monday by a Hilo jury of second-degree assault and first-degree burglary for breaking into his former girlfriend’s house more than three years ago and stabbing her with a large knife while she was in bed.
Frank Funes originally was charged with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree burglary and domestic abuse for the attack on Tessie Nases, who police said was in critical condition when taken by ambulance to the Hilo Benioff Medical Center emergency room late in the evening on July 8, 2021.
Funes is set to be sentenced Dec. 13 by Hilo Circuit Judge Peter Kubota.
“He’s eligible for probation; he doesn’t have any prior record,” Keith Shigetomi, Funes’ attorney, told the Tribune-Herald afterwards.
Funes has been in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center since his arrest the day of the incident, more than a year longer than the longest jail sentence that can accompany probation. That means if Funes is granted probation by the judge, he’ll be a free man after sentencing.
The jury rejected the attempted murder charge and returned the verdict for second-degree assault — a lesser included charge. Funes was acquitted of the domestic abuse charge.
The burglary is a Class B felony that carries a potential 10-year prison term, while second-degree assault is a Class C felony with a maximum five-year prison sentence.
Shigetomi said Funes was “relieved” by the verdict.
“During our closing argument, we told (the jury) that he was guilty of assault in the second-degree. We told them that he was guilty of the burglary, and that he was not guilty of the abuse. The jury came back with exactly what we had told them.”
Shigetomi said that after the incident, Funes “made a full statement to the police and admitted to his wrongdoing, especially his remorse and embarrassment.”
Funes didn’t testify during the five-week trial.
Nases did testify, as did the son of the former couple, who was a teenager and present at the residence on Opae Street in Hawaiian Beaches subdivision when the break-in and assault occurred.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
