Preliminary Hearing Rescheduled for Man Charged in Connection to ‘End of the World’ Shooting

A preliminary hearing was rescheduled for a Captain Cook man facing second-degree murder and first-degree arson charges in connection to a shooting that occurred at End of the World last month that left one man dead.

On Monday, June 21, 27-year-old Ioane Asagra appeared remotely in District Court from Hawaii Community Correctional Center. Judge Joseph P. Florenzo told the court that he had to recuse himself from the case after seeing the vehicle along the side of the road involved in the investigation.

The hearing was rescheduled for June 25. The court will also hear the state’s motion for no bail. Asagra is currently being held in lieu of $550,000 bail.

Asagra was arrested June 16 on an outstanding warrant as well as suspicion of second-degree murder in the death of 46-year-old Joey Richmond, who was found shot on Keauhou Kainaliu Road, also known as “End of the World,” on May 25.

An autopsy showed Richmond died from multiple gunshot wounds to the body. Detectives from HPD’s Area II Criminal Investigation Section also learned the vehicle Richmond was driving, a BMW, had been removed from the scene. It was located the next day on Keala O Keawe Road (Route 160) down an embankment and had been burned.

During Asagra’s initial appearance on June 18, Deputy Prosecutor Kate Perazich asked that bail be maintained as Asagra is pending charges in two separate felony cases and is currently on probation for a third.

According to the Hawai‘i Police Department, Asagra was extradited back to the Big Island after receiving medical treatment on O‘ahu.

On May 26, a day after Richmond’s body was discovered, Asagra was scheduled to appear in court on charges stemming from a home invasion in December. According to court minutes, the defendant’s mother informed Asagra’s counsel her son suffered head-to-toe burns, was at the hospital and would be transported to the Straub Burn Center in Honolulu.

Asagra was indicted in 3rd Circuit Court in February in connection to the home invasion. He is facing a myriad of felony offenses including robbery, terroristic threatening, drug charges and assault after breaking into a home and threatening two people with a firearm. A bench warrant of $500,000 was issued by Chief Judge Robert DS Kim for his arrest.

Asagra was taken into custody in February but posted bail on April 30.

Asagra is also facing charges for crimes committed in July 2020. Offenses include stealing a vehicle, drug charges, terroristic threatening and credit card theft.