Puna Man Charged in Stabbing Incident

Michael Potee. HPD photo.

Hawaiʻi Island police have charged a 32-year-old Puna man in connection with a stabbing in Puna.

At 12:26 a.m., on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017, officers responded to a residence in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision to a report of a man who had been stabbed by another man who shared the same home.

The victim, a 34-year-old Puna man, sustained stab wounds to his neck and was taken by medics to the Hilo Medical Center in serious but stable condition.

He was later flown via air ambulance to the Queen’s Medical Center on Oʻahu for additional treatment and has since been upgraded to good condition.

At 12:40 a.m., the suspect, Michael Potee, was arrested at the scene and taken to the Hilo cellblock while detectives with the Criminal Investigation Section continued the investigation.

Friday evening, Oct. 13, Potee was charged with second-degree assault.

He was released from police custody at 9:10 p.m., after posting $2,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in District Court on (November 16).

Anyone who may have knowledge about the incident is asked to call the Police Department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311 or Detective Scott Amaral of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 961-2384 or Scott.Amaral@hawaiicounty.gov.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at (808) 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers does not record calls or subscribe to any caller ID service. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.

This information was provided by the authorities. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.