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WAILUKU -- Bail was reduced to $7,500 for a man charged with robbery for allegedly punching another man while stealing his truck in Paia.
Mark Fisher, 51, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree robbery, first-degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle and second-degree terroristic threatening.
During a court hearing Tuesday, Deputy Prosecutor Johann Smith asked for Fisher's bail to remain at $20,000 for the crimes involving violence and property theft.
Fisher asked to be released on supervision, with Deputy Public Defender Ben Lowenthal saying the defendant is a caretaker of property on the way to Keanae. Fisher can't afford to post bail, Lowenthal said.
Second Circuit Judge Kelsey Kawano said he considered the serious nature of the charges as well as Fisher's finances in setting bail at $7,500.
Fisher was arrested after Haiku resident Ryan Stone called 911 at about 11:40 a.m. Dec. 5 to report his unlocked 1996 Ford F150 truck was stolen from the Minit Stop parking lot in Paia.
Testifying at a preliminary hearing Dec. 9 in Wailuku District Court, Stone said that while officers reviewed surveillance video, he walked toward Baldwin Beach Park to look for his truck when he saw it in the Paia municipal parking lot. He got into the truck, which was still running. He was backing out of the spot when Fisher walked out of the trees lining the parking lot, went up to the driver's door and said, "This is my truck now," Stone said.
"It was scary, so I locked my door," Stone said.
He said Fisher jumped into the truck bed. As Stone reached back to shut the sliding back window, Fisher stuck his hand in the window so it wouldn't shut, Stone said. He said he pulled out of the parking lot and was heading toward Minit Stop on Hana Highway when Fisher began climbing through the window.
"He said, 'I'm going to kill you,' " Stone said. "Then he got into the back seat and he starting choking me. Then he started punching me in the face."
Stone said he was punched four or five times before reaching the middle of the intersection with Baldwin Avenue and stopping the truck to get away from Fisher. When Stone got out of the truck, Fisher got into the front seat, Stone said.
He said he tried to pull Fisher out of the truck and Fisher punched Stone while trying to get back in the truck. The truck lurched forward into a van when Stone ran to Minit Stop to get the police officers. He said Fisher drove away in the truck toward Haiku on Hana Highway.
Stone said he had never seen Fisher before.
Police arrested Fisher and recovered the truck later that afternoon at Pauwela Cannery on West Kuiaha Road in Haiku.
Fisher was ordered to stay away from Stone, his residence, Minit Stop in Paia and the Paia municipal parking lot.
A Feb. 11 pretrial conference is set for Fisher in 2nd Circuit Court.
* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.