Stabbing Outside Hilo Bar Leads to 3 Arrests

A stabbing outside a Hilo bar earlier this week led to the arrest of three men.

The incident occurred on Monday, Aug. 30, in the parking lot of Club Rose after the establishment had closed.

According to a probable cause statement filed in District Court, the reported male victim told authorities he got into a fight with a man, later identified via photographic lineup as Minson Monta, when another male, later identified as Herickson Rooshvelt, stabbed him in the back.

A patron of the bar stepped in to help when he heard calls for help. According to the PC statement, the bystander approached Monta who was fighting with the victim and bear-hugged him, holding his arms down.

“Monta struggled against him and broke free…” the court document indicates.

Monta was reportedly holding a knife that he swung at the bystander. Monta reportedly struck the man in the left elbow causing a small laceration.

The reported victimʻs uncle was also at the bar when he saw his nephew get into an altercation with the Monta and Rooshvelt.

When the uncle went outside to help his nephew, the PC statement indicates he was hit in the head with a hammer by another man, later identified as Anepo Henry. The strike to the head made the man dizzy enough to fall, the court document states.

After falling, the man crawled toward his vehicle and informed another nephew he was with that night about the assault occurring against his cousin.

At that point, the third relative stepped in to assist the first alleged victim. According to the PC statement, the cousin told police he ran over to stop Rooshvelt from fighting with the alleged victim. However, Rooshvelt reportedly began trying to stab the relative, “thrusting the knife at him four-five times and then got him in the abdomen.”

After the cousin had been stabbed, the PC statement indicates Rooshvelt again stabbed the first victim in the back.

The cousins went to Hilo Medical Center where they were treated for their injuries. The knife used in the alleged attack was turned over to hospital staff as it was stuck in the first victimʻs back.

According to the PC statement, the relative explained “after the knife got stuck, Rooshvelt and Monta and the other male party with them left in their vehicle.”

Authorities described the knife as a fixed blade approximately six inches in length with a single cutting edge covered in blood with a black handle.

According to the PC statement, the uncle was able to turn the hammer over to police as the man grabbed it from the suspect after reportedly being struck.

According to the PC statement, the first reported victim was stabbed three times in the back. His injuries were considered serious bodily injury being that there was a substantial risk of death from the patient’s injuries.

The uncle suffered a concussion from the reported hit to the head.

On Friday, Sept. 3, the Hawaiʻi County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney filed charges against 25-year-old Rooshvelt of Hilo, 22-year-old Monta, also of Hilo, and 21-year-old Henry of Kurtistown.

Rooshvelt was charged with first-degree assault and second-degree assault. A review of court records indicates Rooshvelt is pending charges for another unrelated first-degree assault offense, which allegedly occurred in May 2020.

Monta was charged with second-degree assault, and Henry was charged with first-degree assault.

All three men made their initial appearances on Friday in Hilo District Court. Judge M. Kanani Laubach maintained Rooshvelt’s bail at $35,000 and Monta’s bail at $10,000.

Henry’s bail was reduced to $5,000 over the Prosecutors’ objections. All three men were ordered to appear for their preliminary hearings on Sept. 8 in Hilo District Court.