Police were after assault suspect
By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — A Big Island man accused of imprisoning his 19-year-old girlfriend, repeatedly sexually assaulting her and beating her with a golf club and pipe, had been sought by police for almost a month for violating his probation and failing a drug test.
Ernest Horcajo III, 24, was ordered to be held at the Hawai'i Community Correctional Center in lieu of $104,000 bail after his initial court appearance yesterday before Hilo District Court Judge John Moran. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for today.
Horcajo
Horcajo's 19-year-old girlfriend had "bruising throughout her entire body" and was taken to Hilo Medical Center on Wednesday with life-threatening injuries that included six broken ribs, a broken nose, a broken jaw and a ruptured spleen and kidney, according to court records.
An affidavit filed in Hilo District Court yesterday detailed allegations that Horcajo repeatedly beat and sexually assaulted the woman, and threatened her with weapons to force her to engage in sexual acts.
"He would not allow her to speak to others, he was constantly following her, and told her she would be killed if she left him," according to the affidavit.
The woman was held at a home in Ainaloa Estates subdivision in Puna until another woman took her to the Pahoa police station on Wednesday.
Police arrested Horcajo the same day at a vacant lot near Maku'u Drive in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision. He was charged Friday with attempted murder, kidnapping, two counts of second-degree assault and four counts of first-degree sexual assault.
Horcajo, who is unemployed and told police he was born on Moloka'i, has eight convictions for offenses ranging from assault to criminal property damage, including two convictions for abuse of a family or household member that resulted in a four-month jail sentence, according to court records.
At the time of his arrest, he was on probation after being sentenced to a year in jail for felony assault in a case last year.
Police had been looking for Horcajo after he tested positive for methamphetamine use in July, dropped out of a required drug treatment program and failed to report to his probation officer. An arrest warrant was issued Nov. 3 for probation violations.
Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.
