A 36-year-old Puna man on Friday pleaded not guilty to charges he murdered three men in Puna in May and committed a series of criminal property offenses.

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Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto ordered Jacob Baker to return at 9 a.m. Aug. 11 for a bail hearing. He is currently being held without bail at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.

Baker was indicted Thursday on charges of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, plus first-degree burglary, first- and fourth-degree theft, auto theft, unauthorized entry to a motor vehicle, and two counts of property damage.

The murder charges are for the deaths of three lower Puna men: 69-year-old Robert “Bob” Shine, 79-year-old Frederick “Chitta” Morse, and 69-year-old John Carse.

Baker was already charged with the offenses prior to the indictment.

The Hilo District Court ordered a mental examination by a panel of three mental health professionals to determine Baker’s fitness to proceed to trial and penal responsibility — the latter meaning Baker’s mental state at the time of the alleged offenses and whether he had the capacity to understand the wrongfulness and illegality of his alleged actions.

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Reports from the mental examination process, which is already in progress, will be transferred to the higher court.

If convicted as charged for the first-degree murder charge, which was filed because there were multiple homicide victims, Baker faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Baker is also subject to a potential penalty of life without parole for each murder, as prosecutors have provided notice to the court of their intention to seek an enhanced sentence and an extended term of imprisonment.

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