WAILUKU >> Maui police detectives are investigating two separate beatings of two Caucasian men as possible "hate crime." Maui probes
possible hate crimesA group of 4 or 5 young men
attacked 2 victims in DecemberBy Gary T. Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.comThe beatings were unprovoked, and both victims, who were attacked separately, had to be hospitalized, said Maui Assistant Police Chief Gary Yabuta.
One man was critically injured with multiple fractures, a collapsed lung and a tear in his bowels, Yabuta said. He has since recovered.
Yabuta said the attacks may be "racial," or "territorial or both."
Yabuta said four or five young men attacked a Caucasian man when he was about to go to sleep the night of Dec. 4. The victim was with a woman in a vehicle parked in a sugar cane field between Baldwin Beach Park and the Paia Youth Center.
Police said the attackers kicked, punched and used a radio to strike the victim. Some men held the woman as others attacked the victim.
The attackers told the victim he was going to die that night, Yabuta said. They said it was their beach and they were taking it back, he said.
The same men may have assaulted another Caucasian man earlier the same day at Hookipa Beach Park, a few miles north of the later beating, Yabuta said.
The victim suffered facial fractures, and was treated and released from a hospital.
Police declined to release the identity of the victims because of the pending investigation.
Under a state law that became effective in 2001, a person convicted of a hate crime could receive an extended prison sentence.
For instance, a person convicted of a felony assault would normally face a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. But a 20-year sentence may result if the attack was based on hostility to certain perceived characteristics, including race or sexuality, said acting Prosecutor Davelynn Tengan.
Police Lt. Glenn Cuomo said these kinds of attack are fairly rare, and police are interviewing people who may have information about the assaults.
The public may call Maui detectives at 244-6325, or CrimeStoppers at 242-6966 if they wish to remain anonymous.
County of Maui
