Mountain View man attacks woman with machete, beats man bloody with baseball bat

A Mountain View man is facing attempted murder charges after beating a man bloody with a wooden baseball bat at a residence in an Eden Roc Estates subdivision.

James Allan Wilson, 65, was taken into custody over the weekend and appeared remotely in Puna’s District Court where a judge maintained bail of $295,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

Wilson is facing charges of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and second-degree assault stemming from an argument he had on Nov. 24 with two people.

According to a probable cause statement filed in court Monday, a 63-year-old man from Keaʻau and a 43-year-old woman form Honokaʻa came to Wilson’s home on the 11-1800 block of Ulei Street to confront him about possible property he stole from their friend.

During the argument, Wilson pulled out a 2-foot long machete and hit the woman on the head three to four times causing lacerations. He also hit the man on the head with the machete. The woman told police she was able to get the machete away from Wilson and ran into the residence to bandage her injuries. She hid the weapon behind an entertainment shelf.

She left the man outside with Wilson.

A short time later, police said the woman and a male witness heard screaming, ran outside and saw the man lying on the ground, bloody and hurt. Wilson was gone.

The woman drove the victim to Hilo Medical Center where he was intubated and flown to Queen’s Medical Center on O‘ahu. According to the emergency room physician, the man suffered a hemorrhage, skull fracture, right eye rupture, scalp laceration and a fractured right wrist. These injuries were caused by a hard or blunt object, the doctor reported.

The names of the alleged victims have not been released.

On Nov. 24, at about 11:20 p.m., police found Wilson at his residence, where he was arrested. But due to injuries to his face, Wilson was transported by ambulance to Hilo Medical Center. Police said he was treated and released from the hospital a short time later, but into the custody of police. He was taken to the East Hawaiʻi Detention Facility.

On Saturday, Hawai‘i Island police executed a search warrant of Wilson’s property where they found the bat covered in a red substance that tested positive for human blood. The machete was also found and tested positive for human blood.

Attempted murder in the second degree usually carries a penalty of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. Assault in the first degree is a class B felony offense that usually carries a maximum penalty of a 10-year prison term.

Prosecutors have provided notice of an intention to seek an extended term of imprisonment.

Anyone with information regarding this crime can contact Det. Zenas Pacheco (808) 961-2375 or at zenas.pacheco@hawaiicounty.gov.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with the probable cause statement filed in court and new information from the Hawaiʻi Police Department.