The attorney for Gerard Jervis, the former Bishop Estate trustee who was arrested for allegedly ramming his BMW into the rear of a sport utility vehicle full of Saint Louis School football players, said yesterday that the teenagers are "punks who caused their own demise" by allegedly throwing eggs at Jervis' Lanikai home Friday night.

Jervis is scheduled to appear for his arraignment and plea in District Court at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. He posted $40,000 bail early yesterday morning after being charged with criminal property damage in the first degree.

He will plead not guilty, said Paul Cunney, Jervis' attorney.

Representatives for the Honolulu prosecutor's office said they could not comment on the investigation because the incident is in family court. Some Saint Louis School officials and coaches did not return telephone calls or could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Cunney said by phone yesterday from Florida that Jervis did not cause the boys' white SUV to crash into an electrical pole guywire, which left the SUV with its front tires in the air.

Jervis' black BMW only ran into the SUV after it crashed into the guywire on its own, Cunney said.

No one was injured, police said.

"These kids are punks," Cunney said. "Jervis is the victim here. Come on. You have a right to defend your property and your life. He didn't hit the rear of that car. They were trying to run away from him in Lanikai."

Police also reported that Jervis had a blood alcohol level of .10. The legal limit is .08.

Jervis was not charged with driving under the influence, Cunney said.

Still, Cunney plans a "choice of evils defense" on the blood alcohol level.

"He had no intention to drive his car," Cunney said. "Jervis is a victim. The kids were trying to get away."

Jervis, 59, was arrested at 11:45 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Aalapapa and Ka'elepulu drives in Lanikai for allegedly "risking the lives" of those inside, police said.

The four 17-year-old boys from Saint Louis School are all under investigation for harassment for the egg-throwing incident, police said. The driver of the vehicle also is under investigation for driving under the influence of an intoxicant.

Jervis' BMW suffered little damage, Cunney said. That's why the idea that Jervis rammed the SUV doesn't match, he said.

Cunney said the boys drove around Lanikai taunting Jervis, while Jervis was chasing them.

When they finally began heading makai on Ka'elepulu out of Lanikai, Cunney said, "these guys lost control of the car."

Police have said that the teenagers were driving through the area throwing eggs at random targets.

Jervis and his wife had returned from dinner and were sitting in their Onekea Street yard when one of the eggs landed in the yard, Cunney said.

Cunney said the Lanikai community has been under fire from egging and vandalism to mailboxes for the past two months.

"He has to clear his name," Cunney said. "You're allowed to commit a crime as long as that crime is not as egregious as the crime committed."

Jervis was appointed one of the then-Bishop Estate's five trustees in 1994 and served almost five years during one of the estate's most turbulent periods.

He resigned in August 1999 because of an investigation into estate matters and his involvement in a sex scandal that ended with the suicide of a married, female attorney for the estate. The week following the woman's suicide, Jervis was hospitalized for an overdose of sleeping pills.

Since then Jervis has been in private legal practice in Kailua, specializing in personal injury law.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.