Shane Sauceda (right) appears with Deputy Public Defender Tyler Stevenson for a preliminary hearing March 20 in Wailuku District Court. The Maui News / LILA FUJIMOTO photo

WAILUKU — A man who was seen urinating in a county parking lot is facing felony charges after witnesses said he took a fighting stance and punched a police officer last month.

Shane Sauceda, 26, of Wailuku was arrested after police responded to the parking lot fronting the prosecutor’s office at about 1 p.m. March 16.

During a preliminary hearing March 20 in Wailuku District Court, Deputy Prosecutor Joshua Kent testified he went outside the office after hearing loud noise that sounded like an argument and saw Sauceda sitting in the driver’s seat and “yelling along” to gangster rap playing from the car parked in an electric vehicle stall.

Others were in the area when Sauceda got out of the car and urinated in the parking lot, Kent said.

When officer Kamaiki Anakalea arrived and approached Sauceda in his car, he refused to provide his identification and rolled up his window, the officer testified. Anakalea went to the back of the car to have police dispatch check the license plate when Sauceda got out of the car, approached the officer and took a boxing stance, Anakalea said.

“My guard started going up,” Anakalea said. “I asked him to calm down several times because he was raising his voice.”

Sauceda swore at the officer and walked away, then Anakalea told Sauceda to put his hands behind his back because he was being detained.

Sauceda swore again and began running toward the charging station when Anakalea said he grabbed Sauceda in a bear hug and again told him to put his hands behind his back.

Officer Darryl Honda arrived and was standing in front of Sauceda, who was holding onto a cement pillar, when he moved his head back and tried to head-butt Anakalea, he said. He said he pushed Sauceda forward to avoid being struck when Sauceda punched Honda in his left eye.

After the officers took Sauceda to the ground, “he was still combative,” Honda said.

He said he struck Sauceda in the head to get him to loosen his arm so the officers could handcuff him.

When Anakalea placed Sauceda in the back of a police car, “he was trying to spit in my face,” Anakalea said.

The officer moved and the spit — which was red, possibly from lacerations on Sauceda’s mouth — landed on Anakalea’s arm, he said.

Inside the police car, “you could see him banging his head against the Plexiglas partition,” Anakalea said.

Sauceda was placed in leg shackles and was being transported to the police station when he threatened the officer, saying “he was going to kill my sister, kill my family and kill me,” Anakalea said.

“The defendant’s actions were completely unnecessary,” said Special Deputy Attorney General Jared Brickey. “If the defendant had just been cooperative when they asked him, he would have been warned and cited. He took it to the 10th level.”

Judge Douglas Sameshima ruled there was enough evidence to support charges of first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer, first-degree terroristic threatening, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and harassment against Sauceda.

Agreeing with Deputy Public Defender Tyler Stevenson, Sameshima said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to support another charge of terroristic threatening of Anakalea.

Sauceda was released after posting $3,000 bail.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.