Benji Ngeskebei will remain in jail until he can produce the $5,000 cash bail that Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Petersburg recommended at yesterday’s bail hearing.
Ngeskebei’s counsel, Assistant Public Defender Michael Brown, asked Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert Naraja to allow his client to post at least 10 percent of the cash bail.
The judge said a bail modification hearing will be scheduled.
Ngeskebei’s preliminary hearing was set for April 14.
Police Officer Isapen Bokuku told the Variety the defendant went to his uncle’s house in Koblerville at around 8:01 a.m. on April 5.
When the victim opened the door, Ngeskebei grabbed him by the neck and repeatedly punched him on the face and the head, police said.
He only stopped attacking him when the victim’s son intervened, police added.
Bokuku, who was dispatched to the scene, said she saw the victim lying in the garage with blood oozing from his nose and mouth.
She said a doctor who treated the victim at the Commonwealth Health Center recommended that he undergo a head scan because his ears were severely damaged.
The police officer said a family dispute triggered the incident. She did not elaborate.
