Man gets 5 years in prison for fatal punch

WAILUKU -- Focusing on what a man did after punching a Haiku resident who fell to the ground and died, a 2nd Circuit Court judge sentenced the defendant to a maximum five-year prison term Friday at the Wailuku courthouse.

David Homalon Jr., 28, had been convicted of second-degree assault by a jury in January. He originally faced a more serious manslaughter charge in the death of Fabian Martinez, 45.

"You did absolutely nothing to try and help him that day," Judge Richard Bissen said. "You only thought of yourself at that moment."

According to testimony in the trial, Homalon and two friends were sitting on the sidewalk outside Mana Foods in Paia on the evening of July 23, 2015, when Martinez walked by. Homalon stood up and asked Martinez what his name was before Martinez, asking why, turned and walked toward Homalon, a witness said.

Homalon asked Martinez, "Were you talking to my girl?" during an exchange that lasted a minute or two before Homalon punched Martinez in his lower left jaw, according to the witness.

Martinez stiffened and fell back from the curb onto the asphalt, hitting the back of his head on Baldwin Avenue, according to testimony.

Martinez never regained consciousness and was pronounced brain dead two days later at Maui Memorial Medical Center. An autopsy showed that he died of bleeding in his brain.

Defense attorney Philip Lowenthal asked the court to give Homalon four years' probation and to allow him to remain in the community. Lowenthal reiterated the jury's decision, which acknowledged that his client was reckless, but rejected the idea that he knew a single punch would cause the death of Martinez.

"This was a clarion call to change his behavior," Lowenthal said. "There is no way that the Martinez family is going to forget what happened and there is certainly no way that Mr. Homalon's family and Mr. Homalon is going to forget what happened.

"The only hope that we have, your honor, is that something positive will come out of it."

Lowenthal said his client has a strong support system through his church and family, which stood by him during his trial and attended his sentencing Friday. He added that Homalon has re-evaluated his life and runs his own business.

"He is taking life seriously and he understands how quickly it can be lost," Lowenthal said.

Homalon apologized to the court for his actions and agreed to pay $12,000 in restitution to the family for travel and funeral costs.

"I wish his mother was here so I could apologize to her face to face," Homalon said.

Deputy Prosecutor Ryan Teshima asked the court for the maximum five-year term, arguing that Homalon must bear the consequences for his actions. He said there is no more serious crime than the taking of a life.

"Fabian's life ended unexpectedly, unnecessarily and violently," he said.

Letters from Martinez's mother and uncle submitted to the court "just barely describe the pain of their loss," Teshima said. He added that Martinez's father died before the jury's verdict.

Teshima said that Martinez had a passion for surfing and loved music and art. He said the victim did nothing to deserve to be punched that day, but his family has still forgiven Homalon.

"There is a difference between forgiveness and justice," Teshima said. "We're here today before this court of law for justice."

Numerous letters from Homalon's friends and family were submitted to the court and painted him to be a "model citizen," Bissen said. The judge said that he does not dispute the letters, but that Homalon's actions "couldn't be more opposite."

"I'm trying to wrap my head around how that same person described in all these letters is the same person with no provocation acted like a street thug," Bissen said.

Bissen said Homalon had the "upper hand" over Martinez, who was trying to buy something at the store and did not say a bad word to him. He said that Homalon's first mistake was the "sucker punch" and the second -- the "more egregious mistake" -- was fleeing the scene.

"You went over and looked at him and saw his condition and I think you figured out that he wasn't going to make it," Bissen said. "You didn't call police, didn't give him first aid."

Friends gave police a false identification for a suspect, giving Homalon time to get to the airport in an attempt to flee the state, Bissen said. He said police were looking for "some person with dreadlocks running around Paia town."

Homalon was arrested at the airport after a friend identified him, believing that he had already left the island, Bissen said.

It was clear to the court that Homalon unintentionally killed Martinez, but did intentionally confront him, strike him and flee, Bissen said. He said there was no justification for his actions.

"You caused the most extreme damage for probably the least possible excuse, and I think warrants the maximum penalty," Bissen said.

* Chris Sugidono can be reached at csugidono@mauinews.com.