The man accused of punching a North Carolina visitor in the head — leading to his death two days later — was involved in a similar violent assault as a juvenile, according to the city prosecutor's office.

Juvenile court records are normally confidential, but prosecutors said some involving Less Schnabel Jr. will be made public when the manslaughter case against him goes to trial in Circuit Court next month.

Schnabel, 22, is charged with manslaughter and is accused of punching Christopher Reuther at Zablan Beach in Nanakuli on April 22, 2007. The "unprovoked assault" caused severe head injuries and led to the death of Reuther, 34, two days later, according to court records.

Reuther was being recruited to attend the University of Hawai'i Law School and went to the beach park after renting a car and attending a lu'au show that evening on the Leeward Coast.

He had been looking for a place to camp and was taking photographs when he encountered Schnabel, an unemployed Nanakuli High School graduate.

Schnabel "false-cracked" Reuther by punching him near the left ear after Reuther apparently took a photo of him, the prosecutor's office alleged. The victim fell to the ground, unconscious. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition and died two days later.

The prosecutor's office has filed paperwork in the case stating that Schnabel knew that his conduct "could cause serious bodily injury and/or death" because of another beachfront assault that occurred in 2002, when the defendant was 17 years old.

The victim in that case, Cameron Gernhard, had gone to Nanakuli Beach Park with two friends to attend the 19th birthday party of another friend, according to a legal memo filed by Deputy Prosecutor Darrell Wong.

"About 50 young people happened to be at the park, hanging out and drinking beer," the memo said.

Gernhard said "everyone was pretty much trying to fight with us" so he and his friends decided to leave, the memo said.

When Gernhard tried to shake Schnabel's hand "in an effort to be cool with everyone," he was "suddenly punched in the left side of the face," the prosecutor's memo said.

Gernhard fell to the ground and was kicked several times in the face.

He suffered a fractured eye socket and backward displacement of his left eye.

Schnabel was tried on a charge of first-degree assault in July 2003 and heard medical testimony about the severity of Gernhard's injuries, Wong said in his memo. The memo doesn't disclose the outcome of the juvenile trial.

As a result, Schnabel "was on notice that similar acts in the future could cause much more serious injuries than what Mr. Gernhard had suffered," Wong said in his memo.

Schnabel's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Debra K. Loy, has not filed a response to Wong's motion, according to court files. She could not be reached for comment yesterday.