LIHUE — A Kapaa man who allegedly harassed a group of visiting eighth-graders in May and drew the attention of the mayor had his hearing continued on Tuesday. Iona Keola Loi, 20, appeared before District Judge Trudy Senda to enter
LIHUE — A Kapaa man who allegedly harassed a group of visiting eighth-graders in May and drew the attention of the mayor had his hearing continued on Tuesday.
Iona Keola Loi, 20, appeared before District Judge Trudy Senda to enter his plea on assault charges but his hearing was pushed to Dec. 1 after Loi retained counsel from the public defender’s office.
Judge Senda called Loi’s decision untimely.
“Why are you just doing this now?” Senda said. “You’re facing charges that can put you in jail for up to a year.”
Loi, who is charged with two counts of assault in the third degree and one count of harassment, said he had no excuse for his actions.
But after the hearing, Loi said the visitors were the instigators of the incident and that a simple unfriendly glance turned into aggressive shouts and violent punches.
“I was like driving past with my girlfriend and I seen these two kids and I was trying to be friendly and they looked at me weird and they came over by my car,” Loi said.
According to the Kauai Police Department, Loi was part of a group men who harassed 22 visiting eighth-graders and their teachers from California near the Hanalei Pier on May 30.
Victims of the harassment described the event to police and TGI as a mob scene and said they were punched and spat on.
Several witness came forward to describe the scene to police, according to county spokeswoman Sarah Blane.
But Loi said the tourists were the aggressors. After an exchange of words, Loi said the kids standing near a van began verbally harassing him. Loi said he turned around and “pushed one of the kids in his face.”
He said bystanders pushed him away and told Loi they would call the police.
Loi said he told the witnesses he just wanted to “talk it out,” but that wasn’t enough for the father of one of the alleged victims.
Loi said one men punched him in the face and what followed was a full out assault on the group of eight-graders that Loi said did not directly involve him.
“I started screaming because my brother was there,” Loi said. “And then a whole group of kids came over to the van and start pushing them away and spitting at them.”
The incident sparked outrage on the island and Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. personally apologized to one of the victims.
No other suspects were identified or arrested, Blane said.
One of the alleged victims mentioned in the complaint, Tim Corcoran, 60, couldn’t be immediately reached for comment Tuesday. In a previous interview, Corcoran told The Garden Island that police downplayed the assault and many other assailants.
Loi was arrested 40 days after the incident and posted $450 bail.
“He’s just retained us and we have not had a meeting with our client,” said Christopher Donohoe, defense attorney for Loi, referring to Loi’s comments regarding the May 30 incident.
Donohoe said he will formally meet with his client Nov. 18.
The prosecuting attorney’s office was unavailable for comment.
