A Kapaa man has been arrested in connection with an assault that occurred near Hanalei Pier in May.
Iona Keola Loi, 20, was arrested last Thursday on two counts of third-degree assault and one count of harassment. He posted bail and was released pending a court appearance, which has not yet been scheduled.
At approximately 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, police responded to a report of an assault in progress at the pier. Kauai police said possible suspects fled the scene before officers arrived, but the victims included one male teen and three adult chaperones who were part of a youth group visiting Kauai from California.
The victims relayed that at least two local men were involved in a confrontation that resulted in the teen and two male chaperones being punched. The female chaperone was then spat one when she attempted to intervene.
“I really thought we were going to die. We were surrounding by 20 of them, threatening to kill us. The reason why I think we got out of there alive (was because) they didn’t have any weapons. They didn’t show any knives or show any guns, just bodies,” Tim Corcoran, a male chaperone with the group, previously told KHON2.”I’m telling you, I’ve lived a lot of life. I’m 60 years old. I’ve been in very dangerous situations. I’ve traveled the world and I thought we were going to die.”
Police investigation revealed that Loi was the suspect responsible for the assault.
No other suspects have been identified at this time.
