A Waimanalo man indicted yesterday on charges of raping two women this year is awaiting sentencing in a separate felony firearms case, according to court records.

John Veikoso, 21, is being held in lieu of $2 million bail on charges that he beat and sexually assaulted women in January and earlier this month after picking up both victims in Honolulu and driving them to Windward O'ahu.

A grand jury indicted him on charges including first-degree sex assault and kidnaping.

Before he allegedly committed those crimes, Veikoso had entered a "deferred acceptance of guilty" plea to a charge of illegal possession of an unregistered firearm. Such a "DAG" plea results in no criminal record for a defendant if he or she stays out of trouble with the law for a specified period.

Circuit Judge Stephen Alm is scheduled to decide on Tuesday whether to accept the DAG plea.

Court records show that Veikoso last year was charged in the gun case in October after security guards at Ala Moana Center saw him and two other men handling a firearm while standing beside Veikoso's car.

The guards notified police, who stopped the car and discovered a .44-caliber "percussion" revolver in the trunk of Veikoso's black Mustang, according to court files.

Veikoso said that he bought the weapon for $40 from "a crack head named James" at Waimanalo Beach Park, police said.

Police technicians tested the weapon, which uses percussion caps to fire lead projectiles, and found it to be a workable firearm.

According to police affidavits filed in the sex-assault cases, Veikoso picked up a 23-year-old prostitute on Kuakini Street and took her in his pickup truck on Pali Highway, punching her several times.

The woman fell or was pushed out of the truck's window but Veikoso stopped and dragged her by the hair back into the truck, according to police accounts of the crime.

After sexually assaulting the victim, Veikoso took her to Tripler Army Medical Center. She was so badly beaten she could not make a police report until six days after the assault, according to police records.

In the other case, Veikoso allegedly picked up a 19-year-old woman near the Longs Pali store, drove her to Maunawili Elementary School and assaulted her.

Veikoso let her go after he allegedly told her she was "lucky because I usually don't let people leave," the victim told police.

Veikoso was arrested at his Waimanalo home after the victim reported the assault and gave police the license plate number of Veikoso's Mustang.