COURTESY HONOLULU POLICE DEPARTMENT
R.J. Masolo
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A teenager accused of fatally beating an 83-year-old homeless man in Chinatown was sentenced in state court Thursday to 10 years in prison.
And because the victim was at least age 60, RJ Marsolo must serve at least three years and four months of his sentence behind bars before he can be eligible for parole. The Hawaii Paroling Authority can set a higher minimum.
Marsolo, 19, had been charged with murder in the December 2013 beating death of Mamerto "Eddie" Semana.
In October he pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in a deal with the prosecutor.
Honolulu police said Marsolo was drinking with friends at Beretania Community Park in the evening of Dec. 3, 2013.
A witness told police Marsolo then went toward College Walk, where he encountered Semana, spoke to him briefly, then punched him in the head. After Semana fell to the ground, the witness said, Marsolo continued to punch and kick him.
It wasn’t until about four hours later, in the early morning of Dec. 4, 2013, that anyone had noticed that Semana was injured and called for an ambulance.
Semana went in critical condition to the Queen’s Medical Center, where he died Dec. 5, 2013.
Through a Chuukese interpreter, Marsolo apologized in court Thursday to Semana’s family. He said he had had too much to drink, that he didn’t intend to kill Semana and that the death continues to haunt him.
