Editor’s Note: KHON2 has posted roughly five minutes of unedited surveillance footage as it played in court. The video contains violence and may not be suitable for some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.

KONA (KHON2) – Three suspects accused of beating a security guard near death pleaded not guilty Friday.

Wesley Samoa, 30, of Kona, and Lama Lauvao, 30, and Natisha Tautalatasi, 41, both of Honolulu, were charged with attempted murder in the second degree.

According to Hawaii island police, officers responded to an assault that took place at around 12:30 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 17.

A preliminary investigation revealed the 63-year-old victim was responding to a noise complaint when he approached an SUV that was playing loud music in the parking lot.

According to police, officers at the scene determined that a confrontation occurred between the victim and the vehicle’s occupants, which included Samoa, Lauvao, and Tautalatasi.

“They pulled him from the golf cart onto the parking lot driveway where three of them alternated punching and kicking him even after it appeared he was unconscious,” said Lt. Roylen Valera.

Hotel surveillance video submitted into evidence shows the beating.

In it, the 63-year-old security guard gets dragged out of his golf cart, and the three suspects beat him even after he falls to the ground. Minutes after they walk away, the beating continues as the victim remains on the ground.

The victim was taken to Kona Community Hospital in critical condition, then flown to Oahu, where he remains hospitalized.

Experts say the video makes a strong case for prosecutors.

“It really doesn’t matter what he or she said. The law doesn’t give you the right to just beat down on an elderly person because you don’t like what they said,” said Ken Lawson, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law.

Lawson says the video makes a strong case for prosecutors, who used it as evidence during last week’s hearing. Lawson says it also persuades a judge to set a high bail.

“(The message is) I want to show you, judge, this isn’t a regular assault. What these people did was mean, heinous, and they’re a danger to the community. If they’re going around beating up helpless elderly people, they really don’t need to be on the streets. That was the argument,” Lawson said.

Prosecutors say because the victim is over 60 years old, they will ask for an extended sentence if the suspects are found guilty. Lawson says it’s part of the law that many states have implemented to protect the vulnerable which includes children.

“Because they can’t fight back. Since they can’t protect themselves we will protect you, we being the law, will protect you from them,” he said.

All three suspects remain in custody, unable to post $250,000 bail each. Their trial is set to begin Jan. 29, 2019.

Police ask that anyone who may have witnessed the incident to call Detective David Matsushima at (808) 326-4646 ext. 224 or via email at david.matsushima@hawaiicounty.gov, or call the Police Department’s non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311.