HONOLULU (KHON2) — The 52-year-old Hilo man accused of kidnapping a 15-year-old girl on Friday, Sept. 16, was arrested on Saturday, then charged on Monday. The incident triggered the state’s second ever MAILE AMBER Alert, prompting an island-wide search for Mikella DeBina.
On Tuesday, Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen announced the charges against Duncan Mahi.
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Court documents paint a frightening picture of what happened to the teen in the 22 hours she was held captive.
According to court documents, Mahi threatened DeBina and her boyfriend with a knife, and forced her to “restrain” her boyfriend before she was abducted.
Court documents said the teen recounted being shackled and kept inside a yellow bus behind Mahi’s home and being forced to smoke methamphetamine.
Mahi is charged with kidnapping, robbery, terroristic threatening and meth trafficking in connection with a series of incidents that occurred on Friday. Not all charges are mentioned due to the privacy of the victim. Prosecutors are seeking an extended term of imprisonment for which Mahi would serve a life term as a result of his two prior felony convictions for terroristic threatening.
Mahi made his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon in Kona District Court and has his preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m. He remains in custody with bail set at $2 million.
One of the good Samaritans that helped save DeBina after she was allegedly abducted on the south side of Anaehoomalu Bay credits the MAILE AMBER Alert for getting the community engaged.
“All I remember is yelling who she was and telling the people that were close to them to stop him. As I’m saying that, I like, grabbed her just as quickly,” said Bridge Hartman, an employee at Cafe Pesto.
As Hartman and others helped get her to safety, Mahi was able to get away, but police found and arrested him a couple of hours later.
As it turned out, it was DeBina’s idea to go there in the first place. On Saturday morning, she told Mahi she was hungry and asked him to take her to Cafe Pesto. When they arrived, they scuffled as DeBina tried to escape. That’s when Hartman stepped in.
Watch his interview below:
As the investigation continues, anyone with information is asked to contact Hawaii Island Police Department at 808-935-3311 or Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.
