Witness: Pier situation ‘out of control’

HANALEI — Police have released the names of the two suspects arrested in connection with a disturbance at Hanalei Pier Tuesday night.

Allen Brian Alapai, 32, of Hanalei was charged with disorderly conduct and Ikaika Daniel Hebronwoodward, 22, of Lihue was charged with disorderly conduct and harassment in an incident at the pier about 7:30 p.m., according to police.

“There were many witnesses to the suspects’ taunting behavior that was directed at all those present,” said Assistant Chief Roy Asher. “Only one was willing to talk to responding officers and serves as the only complainant.”

Police said on Friday that Alapai was released after his arrest for the misdemeanor charge and Hebronwoodward remains in custody.

A Kilauea resident who witnessed the arrests spoke to The Garden Island about the incident on the condition of anonymity.

The witness said there were actually two separate incidents at the pier Tuesday night. The first involved a local man who appeared to be intoxicated and started harassing a tourist family, eventually taking a swing — but missing — at a male tourist at beach with a small child and another person.

The witness said the police were called at that time because the local man continued to be rude and belligerent while the family of three attempted to pack up their belongings and leave.

“He was drinking and he was loud, obnoxious and rude,” the witness said.

“It was a gorgeous day,” she continued. “Everybody is sitting there, relaxing after work, watching the sunset and this cute couple with a baby is there having a great day at the beach and all of a sudden this local guy starts in on them to the point where they are packing up the car to leave.”

Meanwhile, a separate group of about a dozen young local boys was causing a commotion, cursing loudly while some jumped off the pier into the ocean, the witness said.

“We were thinking something awful is going to happen,” she said. “Someone is going to break their neck. These guys are egging each other on and they’re doing somersaults off the pier.”

Soon, the boys left the pier and went to the beach and grass, where they began pushing, shoving and wrestling one another while cursing in loud voices, the witness said. Everyone on the beach was disturbed by their behavior, and several people were yelling at them to stop, she said.

The police were called a second time.

“It was like a movie,” the witness said. “It was insane. Completely out of control. They were making it miserable for everybody.”

The witness said the boys appeared to be drunk or under the influence of drugs.

She said one of the boys — one of the two who was arrested — approached a longtime resident, put his face an inch away from hers and yelled a racial slur.

The witness said a beach-goer filmed the incident and she saw that person talk to police when they arrived on the scene.

“I have never seen behavior like that at the beach,” the witness said. “We need to have a police presence there. We need to have a cop cruise up and down that parking lot so they know that there are cops around.”

The arrests come less than three weeks after a group of eighth-grade students and teacher chaperons visiting from California were attacked by a large group of young adults near the pier on May 30.

Several of the victims reported being threatened, spit on and punched.

The suspects fled before police arrived on the scene, and so far no arrests have been made.

Police increased patrols in the area of Hanalei Pier after the incident, according to Asher.

He said there is no indication that the suspects in the May 30 incident were involved in the incident on Tuesday, nor is there evidence that the two events are related.

A Hanalei business owner who spoke to The Garden Island on the condition of anonymity said he plans to reach out to other business owners to fund a private security guard to monitor nighttime activity at the pier.