WAILUKU — Citing inconsistencies in the testimony of a man who reported being beaten and robbed at gunpoint in his Haliimaile home, a judge Monday dismissed three charges and reduced two other counts for two men arrested in the robbery.

Cameron Medeiros, 23, of Haiku and Anthony Palladino, 28, of Wailuku now face charges of second-degree robbery and conspiracy to commit second-degree robbery.

After hearing testimony at a preliminary hearing, Judge Adrianne Heely ruled there was probable cause to support the reduced robbery charges instead of first-degree robbery as originally charged.

She dismissed charges of attempted second-degree murder, second-degree assault and second-degree theft for both defendants.

When the preliminary hearing began Friday, Haliimaile resident Richard Ingram testified that he had his safe open at about 11:30 a.m. June 11 when two men wearing visored motorcycle helmets, long-sleeved shirts and pants entered the home. Palladino was with Ingram in the living room, he said.

One robber pointed a revolver and tried to shoot at Ingram three times but the gun didn’t fire, he said. Ingram said that the other robber had what looked like a semi-automatic rifle.

The 59-year-old Ingram testified that $20,000 in cash and pain medication were stolen from his safe and said the robbers beat him with the butts of their guns. He tried to chase the robbers, who left on a small white motorcycle, Ingram said.

He was treated at Maui Memorial Medical Center, requiring 12 staples in his skull, Ingram said.

Defense attorney Chris Dunn, representing Palladino, said Ingram gave different versions of the robbery, at first telling a patrol officer that he was pistol-whipped before a robber pointed a gun at Ingram and tried to pull the trigger. Ingram later reversed the order of events when talking to a detective, Dunn said.

Testifying Monday, Detective Dennis Clifton said Ingram was “bleeding heavily” and had two lacerations to his head when police arrived at his house in response to the robbery report.

About two hours later, when Clifton spoke to Ingram at Maui Memorial Medical Center, he hadn’t yet been treated and the interview had to be stopped so medical personnel could tend to him, Clifton said.

“He was breathing very heavily,” Clifton said. “He appeared to be in a lot of pain.”

Dunn said that Ingram didn’t mention Palladino was in the house in the first three versions of the robbery he gave to police.

While testifying Friday, Ingram “waffles” on how much money was stolen from his safe, Dunn said. He said Ingram provided documents for lines of credit totaling $17,500 but no bank statement to show he received the money.

Dunn said Ingram also gave different reasons Palladino was at the home, telling police it was to “talk story,” but testifying last week that he was going to do mechanical work on Palladino’s car.

Dunn said that the attempted-murder charge was based solely on Ingram’s testimony that a robber pointed a gun at him and pulled the trigger.

“Nothing else in the evidence suggests that the trigger was pulled,” Dunn said. “You cannot credit his statement unless there is something else in the evidence that independently corroborates it.

“I don’t see how this court can trust him.”

In arguing against the attempted-murder and first-degree robbery charges, Dunn said there wasn’t evidence showing Palladino knew a gun would be used that day.

In his confession to police, Palladino said he met with Medeiros and another man at Haliimaile park to do last-minute planning just before the robbery, Clifton said.

In a portion of Palladino’s interview with detectives, Palladino is asked if he had any idea that the other man had a gun. “None,” Palladino replies in a portion of the recording played in court Monday. “I don’t think he had one.”

Palladino also reported telling the man “make sure you don’t hurt him.”

“He said, ‘Nah, I just going to slap him one time,’ ” Palladino says in the recording.

Palladino told police he looked down when the man “started going off” on Ingram in the house and didn’t see all of what happened.

“I just felt bad after,” Palladino says in the recording.

The third suspect, who hasn’t been arrested, was identified as a 32-year-old Kahului man who was critically injured in a June 26 crash on Haleakala Highway at Makawao Avenue when the motorcycle he was operating ran a red light, according to police. He remains hospitalized.

Clifton testified last week that medics found a revolver in the motorcyclist’s backpack and he had a helmet similar to the one seen in the robbery. The injured motorcyclist had a silver necklace similar to the one worn by the first robber to enter Ingram’s house, Clifton said.

He confirmed the timeline of video from Ingram’s surveillance cameras showing the outside of his house. The robbers are seen leaving the house at 11:34 a.m. Less than a minute later, a man wearing a red shirt enters the home to join Ingram and Palladino inside. The man leaves 22 seconds later, and eight seconds later another man enters the house.

Palladino leaves the house before the man in the red shirt enters the house a second time, leaving with a tote bag.

While Ingram had testified the bag contained family photos, defense attorney David Wiltsie questioned that, saying the man was carrying the bag at arm’s length “gingerly at the end of his fingertips.”

Wiltsie, representing Medeiros, said Palladino didn’t report seeing Medeiros with a gun, leaving only Ingram’s testimony that both robbers had guns.

Medeiros invoked his right to speak to an attorney when he was arrested and didn’t make any statements tying him to the crimes, Wiltsie said.

Deputy Prosecutor Lewis Littlepage said Palladino identified Medeiros and the other man as the robbers who entered Ingram’s house. Palladino admitted he knew force was going to be used in the theft, Littlepage said.

For the conspiracy charge, co-defendants are liable based on the facts of what occurred “even if they did not know what all the other conspirators did,” Littlepage said.

“They are alleging Mr. Palladino wasn’t aware of the gun,” Littlepage said. “That is not a defense to the crime. The fact is he was involved in this. He is part of the conspiracy.”

While finding Clifton credible, Heely said, “With the inconsistencies of Mr. Ingram’s testimony, I cannot find him credible.”

She said there wasn’t verification of Ingram’s injuries and the value of what was stolen hadn’t been established.

With the reduction in charges, bail was reduced to $100,000 each for Medeiros and Palladino, who were being held at the Maui Community Correctional Center.

They are scheduled to be arraigned July 25 in 2nd Circuit Court.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.