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A man has been indicted on murder and other charges in the killing of a 20-year-old man whose severely beaten body was found this month in Paia.
William Douglas Allen, 39, was arraigned Thursday in 2nd Circuit Court. He pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, kidnapping and first-degree arson.
Allen is charged with kidnapping and murdering Keenan Blair, whose body was discovered at about 12:30 p.m. Feb. 1 in the area of Holomua Road and Baldwin Avenue, police said. Allen also is charged with setting fire to Blair's vehicle, which police found at another location in Paia.
Police said Allen and Blair knew each other.
According to a police investigation, Blair had been sleeping in his vehicle the morning of Jan. 31 before he was forced into Allen's vehicle. Allen drove to another location, got out of the vehicle and used a large stick to hit Blair until he stopped moving, police said. Blair was dragged into a field and covered with brush, according to police.
Allen, who is homeless, was arrested at about 6 p.m. Feb. 1 when an off-duty police sergeant saw the suspect in the Paia municipal parking lot and called police dispatch, police said.
He was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail in a probation-violation case before being arrested Wednesday on the indictment in the murder case.
A Maui County grand jury indicted Allen on Feb. 14 in the murder case. According to the indictment, Allen could face mandatory minimum sentencing if convicted of the felony charges based on his prior conviction for first-degree terroristic threatening in 2019.
In the murder case, Allen is being held without bail at the Maui Community Correctional Center.
A May 11 trial was set for Allen, who is also known as Doug Allen and Douggie Allen.
* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.