Hearings set for men charged in Big Island attempted murder case

Hearings were set for men charged in a Big Island attempted murder case, putting the matter back before a judge in mid-July and moving it beyond the first arrest stage. In Hawaii County court, that next appearance is where the case can start to narrow toward trial, a plea resolution or other pretrial rulings that will shape what happens to the accused and to the people affected by the violence.

For residents watching a serious felony work through the court system, the hearing schedule matters because it can bring bail issues, motion practice, discovery deadlines and trial timing back into view. In an attempted murder case, those steps can determine whether the prosecution keeps moving forward, whether the defense contests the evidence, and how soon the case reaches a courtroom where facts are tested in public.

The significance of that process was clear in a separate Big Island case that moved through Hilo District Court. Kawika Souza, 44, of Paauilo, appeared for a preliminary hearing, and a judge ruled he can be tried for attempted second-degree murder after he was accused of shooting a 38-year-old Ookala man who said Souza had been his friend for more than 10 years. The case also involved Gary Dias-Souza, underscoring how quickly a local assault case can turn into a broader criminal proceeding when the charge rises to attempted murder.

Other recent Big Island cases show the range of steps that can follow. William Tai Seu Wong, 66, of Hawi was arrested and charged after a Kailua-Kona grand jury indictment in a domestic incident, and another Hawi case advanced to a trial setting after the defendant pleaded not guilty to attempted second-degree murder, second-degree assault, first-degree terroristic threatening and two counts of felony domestic abuse. In a separate case, Avery Nissen, 21, of Overland Park, Kansas, was charged with attempted murder after a stabbing aboard a boat off the Kona coast, and a mental exam was later ordered.

That sequence is why a hearing notice is more than paperwork in Hawaii County. It is the point where a violent felony case begins moving toward the decisions that will determine accountability, public safety and whether the court ends up with a trial, a plea or another resolution.