Prosecutors last night filed charges in the beating death of a man who tried to break up a purse-snatching in Waikiki late Saturday night.

Ned Nakoa Jr., 58, died Sunday after he tried to help a 26-year-old woman who was allegedly being robbed on Kalakaua Avenue by two young men from Wai'anae.

Charged with second-degree murder, and held in lieu of $1 million bail, is Kelii Donovan Acasia, 19, the Honolulu prosecutor's office said.

Benjamin Pada, 18, was charged with second-degree robbery and second-degree assault, and was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Police have said Acasia and Pada were attacking a couple at the intersection of Kalakaua and Paoakalani and were trying to steal the woman's purse. Nakoa allegedly stepped in and tried to help the couple.

Acacia was on probation on a second-degree sexual assault conviction, and was wanted on a parole-revocation warrant because of an unspecified violation, the prosecutor's office said.

Acasia and Pada are scheduled to make an initial court appearance at 8:30 this morning at Honolulu District Court.

Nakoa was a sweet man who had just come from a family wedding before he tried to help the woman, said Birdie Wong, a friend of Nakoa.

"Somehow he got into a confrontation," said Wong, who was playing cards with three others yesterday at Kuhio Beach Park near the scene of the incident. "He's a very soft person."

GOOD SAMARITAN

The Honolulu medical examiner's office said yesterday that Nakoa died at 10:30 a.m. Sunday of a hemorrhage caused by a blow to the head.

The two suspects had come from a reggae concert at Kapi'olani Park, Wong said.

The woman who was helped by Nakoa, believed to be from Vancouver, British Columbia, but who listed an Atkinson Drive address, was very upset to learn that Nakoa had died, said Jessica Lani Rich of the Visitor Aloha Society, which helps visitors in trouble.

The woman said her boyfriend, a Kane'ohe-based Marine, was injured and had to be treated at the hospital, according to Rich. The woman was physically unhurt but emotionally shaken, Rich said.

According to police affidavits filed in court, the couple was sitting on the beach when several people approached them Saturday night. The couple said Pada kicked the Marine in the face and laughed as he grabbed her purse. The Marine chased the men along Kalakaua Avenue.

During the chase, Nakoa got involved, was knocked to the ground by one of the assailants and was injured, court documents said. One of the two alleged assailants "punched and kicked (Nakoa) until he laid on the ground motionless," an affidavit said.

Acasia was arrested while hiding between vehicles in the loading dock of the Waikiki Resort Quest Hotel along Lemon Road; Pada was arrested in the hotel, court documents said.

Five witnesses identified Acacia as the man who assaulted Nakoa, court documents said.

LEGISLATION URGED

The attack, the second against a Good Samaritan this year, sparked calls yesterday for tougher laws to protect those who step in to help strangers.

In January, a 69-year-old man was knocked unconscious when he intervened as Alapeti Siuanu Tunoa Jr. allegedly beat Janel Tupuola to death with the stock of a shotgun in front of several terrified witnesses at a Kailua intersection, police said.

"We have to get tougher on crime," said Sen. Fred Hemmings, (R-25th, Kailua, Waimanalo, Hawai'i Kai), who sponsored a bill last session to increase penalties for those convicted of injuring a Good Samaritan. The bill failed in conference committee.

Hemmings said his bill would have allowed a judge to enhance the sentence if someone was convicted of a violent crime against a Good Samaritan.

"I will reintroduce it next session," Hemmings said.

State Rep. Tom Brower, D-23rd (Waikiki, Ala Moana), said police statistics he's seen have shown crime in the state's premier tourist destination going down in recent years.

"But then you have something horrendous every so often that brings attention to the crime we do have," Brower said. A few months ago, there was a widely publicized bar fight.

As for Nakoa's death, "this one was exceptionally sad because it involved a Good Samaritan," Brower said.

'IT'S CRAZY'

Brendan Fritzsche, a managing partner at Lulu's, a restaurant and bar across the street from the incident, said he was just coming back to the bar from a movie when he saw Nakoa try to stop the attack on the Canadian woman.

"It's normally quiet out here, but sometimes when there's events at Kapi'olani Park, there are people who end up here," Fritzsche said.

Melani Honda, who was showering at Kuhio Beach Park yesterday, said she and others bodyboard with the men allegedly involved.

"We hang out with them," Honda said. "We don't know them like that. They don't cause trouble."

Josh Faulkner, 29, who was in the parking lot of his condo on Lemon Road near where one of the men was arrested, said: "People are talking about it around here. I was surprised that something like this would happen here. It's crazy."