State v. Wood

── State v. Wood ── Court: Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals Date: June 02, 2026 Category: General NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX 02-JUN-2026 07:54 AM Dkt. 45 SO NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I STATE OF HAWAI#I, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JASON KAPENA WOOD, Defendant-Appellee APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE THIRD CIRCUIT (CASE NO. 3CPC-XX-XXXXXXX) SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER (By: Leonard, Presiding Judge, Hiraoka and Guidry, JJ.) On March 10, 2020, a Third Circuit grand jury indicted Jason Kapena Wood on two counts of sexual assault in the first degree and two counts of kidnapping. The indictment alleged two incidents involving different complaining witnesses. The circuit court granted Wood's motion to sever. Counts 3 and 4 involving the second complaining witness (CW) were refiled under a new case number. On April 26, 2024, Wood moved to dismiss counts 3 and 4. He argued they "fail to state an offense and are defective." The Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order Granting Motion to Dismiss Counts 3-4 of the Indictment for Failure to State an Offense was entered on July 2, 2024.1 The State of Hawai#i appeals. We have jurisdiction under Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 641-13(1) (2016). We vacate and remand for further proceedings. 1 The Honorable Robert D.S. Kim presided.  NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER A charge is supposed "to safeguard an accused's fundamental right to know what they must defend against to avoid conviction." State v. Aquino, 154 Hawai#i 388, 393, 550 P.3d 1246, 1251 (2024). Its sufficiency is determined "by whether it contains the elements of the offense intended to be charged, and sufficiently apprises the defendant of what he or she must be prepared to meet." State v. Jardine, 151 Hawai#i 96, 100, 508 P.3d 1182, 1186 (2022) (cleaned up). We review the dismissal of an indictment de novo. State v. Kaakimaka, 156 Hawai#i 302, 309, 574 P.3d 767, 774 (2025). In addition to the charge, we look at other information provided to the defendant "to the point where the court passes upon the contention that his right has been violated[,]" State v. Treat, 67 Haw. 119, 120, 680 P.2d 250, 251 (1984), "to determine whether the defendant had actual knowledge of what the defendant alleges was missing from a charge." Kaakimaka, 156 Hawai#i at 313, 574 P.3d at 778. Count 3 HRS § 707-730 (2014) provides: (1) A person commits the offense of sexual assault in the first degree if: (a) The person knowingly subjects another person to an act of sexual penetration by strong compulsion[.] Count 3 alleged: On or about the 5th day of April, 2014, in the County and State of Hawai#i, JASON KAPENA WOOD knowingly subjected [CW] to an act of sexual penetration by strong compulsion, thereby committing the offense of Sexual Assault in the First Degree, in violation of Section 707-730(1)(a), Hawai #i Revised Statutes, as amended. "Strong compulsion" means the use of or attempt to use one or more of the following to overcome a person: (1) A threat, express or implied, that places a person in fear of bodily injury to the individual or another person, or in fear that the p