A 43-year-old woman found lifeless in Mariano Garces’ home in Molokai had filed a petition for a temporary restraining order against him earlier this year, alleging Garces abused her for months, court records show.
Garces, also known as Mariano Tamayo Garces Jr., made his initial appearance at Wailuku District Court on Wednesday via videoconference from the courthouse cellblock after prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder in Amie Kaholoaa’s death.
During the hearing, Deputy Public Defender Andres Tobar requested a reduction of Garces’ $1 million bail, noting the amount is too steep. “I don’t believe him to be a flight risk,” Tobar said.
Judge Christopher Dunn maintained the bail amount at $1 million. Garces’ preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.
The Maui Police Department said Molokai dispatchers received a 911 call Saturday afternoon from a man about a possible murder at his residence in Kaunakakai. When officers arrived they discovered Kaholoaa’s lifeless body in the home.
Police searched the area for the man to no avail.
Police said the man, identified as Garces, returned to his residence the next morning where officers arrested him on suspicion of murder.
Court records show Kaholoaa filed a petition for a temporary restraining order against Garces on Feb. 1, alleging Garces choked her, punched her in the face and hit her with a stick on Jan. 31. “I have bruises on my body from this incident,” she said in the petition. “I’m afraid of him and feel like he will kill me one day.”
The February petition indicated Garces and Kaholoaa were in an intimate relationship for six months. She alleged Garces abused her for the past three months and that the abuse “has not stopped.”
She added Garces might own, possess or have access to hunting guns and feared he might use the firearm to threaten, injure or abuse her.
In the petition, Kaholoaa alleged Garces “has a long history of drugs and has anger issues” and requested Garces seek help through anger management classes and drug court.
Nearly two weeks after the filing, the court terminated the petition after Kaholoaa did not appear at a scheduled hearing to address the petition.
In a separate case, Garces was charged in June with several counts of unlawful ownership or possession of a firearm and ammunition and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon or device.
The charging document alleged he unlawfully owned or possessed a Remington .30-06-caliber rifle and .30-06 ammunition, Remington Arms .270-caliber rifle and a Browning 12-gauge shotgun and 12-gauge shotgun shells. It also alleged he was in unlawful possession of a shotgun with a barrel length less than 18 inches.
Garces has a criminal record that shows multiple convictions for firearm and drug-related offenses.
In 2007 he was convicted in a case that included five felonies for place to keep unloaded firearms other than pistols and revolvers, unlawful ownership or possession of firearms or ammunition, promoting a dangerous drug and drug paraphernalia.
