Jolanie Cepeda Tenorio at the local courthouse for a bail hearing on Wednesday afternoon.
POLICE said Jolanie Cepeda Tenorio grabbed the purse of a store owner and bit both hands of the victim, who was trying to get back her purse.
Tenorio, 36, was charged with robbery, assault and battery, and disturbing the peace.
She appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a bail hearing on Wednesday afternoon.
At the hearing, Tenorio was represented by Assistant Public Defender Molly Dennert. Assistant Attorney General Heather Barcinas, who appeared for the government, asked the court to maintain the $10,000 cash bail.
After hearing from the parties, Judge Camacho maintained the cash bail amount and remanded Tenorio to the custody of Corrections. He also ordered her to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 18 at 10 a.m., and for an arraignment on Dec. 23 at 9 a.m.
The complaint
Police received a report regarding a disturbance on Dec. 10 at around 3:46 p.m. at Club 88 in Garapan.
When responding officers arrived at Club 88, staffers pointed to Tenorio, who was shouting and would not calm down.
When an officer tried to talk to Tenorio, she walked away and told the officer not to touch her. She was told by the officer that she was not free to leave and tried to hold her arm. But Tenorio kept pulling her arm away, struggling with the officer as both fell to the ground. The officer instructed Tenorio to stop resisting, but she kept tucking her arms to her body. Shortly after, Tenorio was secured and handcuffed.
According to the victim, she was at her business establishment on Garapan Street when Tenorio asked to borrow her cell phone. However, when the victim asked for her phone back, Tenorio refused, saying, “No.” The victim then tried to retrieve her phone and struggled with Tenorio, who eventually let go of the phone, causing the victim to fall to the ground.
Police said Tenorio then grabbed the strap of the victim’s black purse, causing it to break. Holding the purse, she ran toward Club 88. The victim chased after Tenorio and followed her into Club 88, where she tried to retrieve her purse and struggled with Tenorio.
Police said when the victim used her right hand to grab her purse, Tenorio bit her right hand. When the victim used her left hand to grab back the purse, Tenorio bit her left hand, police added.
Eventually, the victim managed to take back her purse, which contained the paper copy of her driver’s license, a paper copy of her Social Security card, a Bank of Hawaii receipt with her business name on it, her business receipt book, her car keys and other keys, and $528.57 in cash.
