Calvin Tagabuel, right, is escorted by a Corrections officer at the local courthouse on Wednesday morning. Photo also shows another defendant, Kevin Sanchez, background.
SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho found probable cause to charge Calvin C. Tagabuel with second degree murder, and aggravated assault and battery.
Second degree murder is the criminal act of killing another person without premeditation.
According to police, the victim was punched in the mouth by Tagabuel, causing the victim to fall to the ground.
Initially, Tagabuel, 47, was charged with voluntary manslaughter, and aggravated assault and battery.
At the preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds presented to the court video footage of the incident.
After the hearing, Tagabuel, who was represented by Assistant Public Defender Emily Thomsen, was remanded to the custody of the Department of Corrections and was ordered to return to the court for an arraignment before Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja on March 4, 2024, at 9 a.m.
The complaint
According to the complaint against Tagabuel, on Jan. 6, 2024, at around 9:46 a.m., the Department of Public Safety received a call about an unconscious man who was later identified as Lark Kasian.
Responding police and Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services officers saw Kasian lying down on the stairway at the entrance to Cool Laundry in Kagman. He was observed to have a swollen and dry mouth, a scrape on his right kneecap, and blood on his pants.
The victim, who was awake but was unable to speak, was transported to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. for further evaluation.
Kasian was admitted to CHCC for trauma subarachnoid hemorrhage or “bleeding in the head.” On Jan. 12, 2024, at around 6:07 a.m., he died at the hospital.
Police learned that the victim had consumed alcoholic beverage and had gotten into an argument with another man in the evening of Jan. 5.
While police were conducting an investigation and processing the scene, they encountered Tagabuel, who told one of the investigators that he fought with the victim, Kasian.
In an interview with police, Tagabuel said he saw Kasian inside Cool Laundry and an on-duty security guard, who asked Tagabuel for help.
Tagabuel said Kasian was pointing at him and the security guard, “making a fist with one hand and punching the palm of his hand threatening to ‘smash’ them.”
Tagabuel told police that Kasian asked him to “fight.”
Tagabuel said he punched Kasian in the mouth. Kasian then fell to the ground, and appeared to have been “knocked out,” Tagabuel added.
He said he later carried Kasian to the stairway near the Cool Laundry entrance and told the security guard not to call for an ambulance and let Kasian “sleep it off.”
On Jan. 13, investigators reviewed the security camera footage from Cool Laundry. It indicated that at around 11:14 p.m. on Jan. 5, a security guard attempted to escort Kasian out of Cool Laundry.
Kasian was seen standing at the entrance of the establishment pointing at the security guard and Tagabuel, who was in the parking lot of Cool Laundry.
In the footage, Tagabuel was seen approaching Kasian, pushing him, and pointing toward the east. But Kasian refused to leave and said “relax” about four times to Tagabuel.
Tagabuel then punched Kasian in the face. Kasian fell to the ground and hit his head. He appeared to be unconscious. Tagabuel slapped Kasian’s cheeks twice, but Kasian did not wake up. Tagabuel again slapped Kasian’s cheeks twice, but the victim remained unconscious. Tagabuel then carried Kasian to the stairway near the entrance to Cool Laundry where five to six people came to look at the victim for a few seconds and later walked away.
On Jan. 18, 2024, Dr. Phillip Dauterman of CHCC conducted an autopsy on the victim’s body. Dauterman said the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head with skull fracture and traumatic brain injuries.
