The 18-year-old man accused of stabbing a 17-year-old girl on Kahala Beach pleaded not guilty Thursday to the charge of second-degree attempted murder and was denied bail.

Circuit Court Judge Shirley Kawamura denied bail for Erik Willis, who was being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

His lawyer, Eric Seitz, entered the not guilty plea and asked for a jury trial. He unsuccessfully argued against raising the bail to $1 million after a grand jury indictment and asked for a reduction to the original $200,000.

However, Deputy Prosecutor David Van Acker prevailed in his motion to have bail denied, saying in his written motion that Willis poses a danger to the community because he allegedly attacked a random stranger without motive and that no condition or combination of conditions could assure the community’s safety.

The motion restates allegations contained in Friday’s grand jury indictment that the girl was lying on the beach on July 8 when a man she had seen on the beach before but never spoken with, came up from behind, held her mouth with one hand, and stabbed her neck about five times.

She suffered a tracheal injury, significant blood loss, and stab wounds to her right shoulder, neck and hands.

The motion also alleges DNA from blood found on Willis’ shoe matches the victim’s DNA.

Kawamura said in bail hearings, “the court is tasked to evaluate levels of risk, and not guilt or innocence. The nature of the allegations, however, do involve an unprovoked attack between strangers where complainant allegedly suffered multiple stab wounds to the shoulder neck and hands.”

She said the pretrial bail report “scored the defendant’s risk level as high. Supervised release or any type of release was not recommended.”

The judge further said: “The court can find no condition or combination of conditions that will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant, but more importantly the safety of our community. In other words, the court has not been presented with any evidence or set of conditions that could reasonably assure the safety of the community.

“In fact all indications on the record so far are that the defendant, if he would be released, would be returning to the same residence under the same monitoring in the same circumstances.”

She said his psychiatrist had been treating him from before the allegations arose, and under the same circumstances when these allegations arose.

She denied bail, but said the trial judge could change the conditions of bail.

Willis appeared in court wearing a white, long-sleeved T-shirt and gray pants. His grandparents sat in the courtroom gallery.

Seitz said that there was no reason to deny Willis his constitutional rights by allowing bail, and that while he had been released on $200,000 bail he never violated the conditions of bail while staying in the custody of his grandparents, with whom he had already been living.

He told the court he has not been able to visit his client since he has been held at Oahu Community Correctional Center, and that Willis has not been able to get the medication prescribed by his psychiatrist.

Seitz earlier said he contacted the Sheriff Division to have Willis turn himself in Friday when he learned of the grand jury indictment but was told they had not yet received the bench warrant for his arrest.

He said several police officers arrived Saturday afternoon at Willis’ home, but he was out. Seitz contacted the Sheriff Division and brought Willis in Sunday morning to have him turn himself in.

Seitz argued there was no justification to increase bail because “nothing happened in the two weeks he was released on bail.”

He suggested electronic monitoring or other conditions.

He also said it would penalize anyone purchasing a bond if another judge sets a higher bail amount for no good reason.

”I’m not looking at whether he poses a risk of non-appearance,” the judge told Seitz. “I’m only looking at a risk of whether he poses a risk of danger to the community.”