A 17-year-old suspect in the brutal beating death of a taxicab driver is a kickboxing and mixed martial arts enthusiast who warns on his MySpace page, “;Don't get me mad.”;

“;I like to fight,”; he says on his page on bjpenn.com.

The boy reveals his martial arts discipline is muay Thai kickboxing and shows a photo of his powerful-looking, sculpted body and arms. The Hilo boy also displays a photo of MMA fighter B.J. Penn, who is also from Hilo, posing with his arm over the teen fan's shoulder.

The 17-year-old lived at a Hale Kipa therapeutic group home on Damon Street in Manoa, according to a source familiar with the case, as did the second murder suspect, Michael Robles, 18. (Although the Star-Bulletin has learned the identity of the 17-year-old, it is following its policy of not naming a juvenile suspect unless charged as an adult.)

Hale Kipa Chief Executive Officer Punky Pletan-Cross said he cannot comment on whether the two were residents of the group home or whether they violated curfew. Hale Kipa followed all state requirements, he said.

Curfews are set according to each resident's requirements, and the group home is staffed around the clock with two people who report to police any resident who misses curfew, said Pletan-Cross. He said he is bound by confidentiality requirements and cannot talk about any specific resident.

Both teenagers are charged with second-degree murder in the death of 41-year-old Charlys Ty Tang, who was found bleeding profusely from the face and head in a supermarket parking lot at about 1:55 a.m. May 1 and later died.

After an argument in the cab, the three got out, and Tang was knocked to the ground, then kicked and punched several times, Robles told an investigator.

Prosecutors have filed a petition in Family Court charging the 17-year-old with second-degree murder. He turns 18 in July and may be tried for murder as an adult.

Pletan-Cross said Hale Kipa tries to “;connect youth with things they are interested in,”; and the key is to at least find a way to help them be a part of a community, whether through arts, technology, mixed martial arts, sports or some other avenue.

Hale Kipa, which receives its licensing and funding from the Department of Health, has 20 different sites on four islands, and many residents live away from their home island and their families.