* A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Zion Timshel ran Uncle Roberts bar. Timshel does not work for the bar, nor is he affiliated with it. The incorrect piece of information was taken from another news report, which had the information wrong, but has been updated in this version to reflect the accurate association.
*
The Hawai‘i Police Department confirmed a 62-year-old man was arrested following an assault Sunday in the Kaimū/Kalapana area that was caught by a store’s surveillance camera.
KITV 4 news station first reported the incident on Monday, Feb. 7. The video of the confrontation is here.
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A Hawai‘i Island police spokeswoman told Big Island Now Herbert Rivera, 62, was arrested and charged on Sunday on two counts of assault in the third degree and one count of disorderly conduct after police responded to the incident in the Kaimū/Kalapana area. He was the only one arrested in the incident.
“We have additional suspects and the cases will be forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office for disposition once the investigation is complete,” Denise Laitinen, spokeswoman for the police department wrote in an email to Big Island Now. “Since it is an ongoing investigation at this time, we can not name suspects.”
Zion Timshel told KITV4 he’s the owner and operator of Kaimu Korner Store in Kalapana and the incident began as a confrontation over alcohol around 7 p.m.
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In the video, it shows a shirtless man assaulting an store employee. At one point, Timshel brandishes a self-defense gun full of pepper powder and points it at the assailant. The assailant returns a short time later with more people and appears to disarm the worker and attack him.
Timshel said in the report he locked him and his family and employees in the store and the assailants tried to break in, unsuccessfully.
“My daughter was listening to the whole thing the whole time, just scared out of her mind,” Timshel said in the report. “We were worried we were going to get raided and looted.”
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Timshel said the people involved were neighbors.
Timshel did not respond to a phone call or email to the store on Tuesday. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Tom Hasslinger Tom Hasslinger is a journalist who lives in Kailua-Kona. Prior to joining Big Island Now, he worked as the managing editor for West Hawaii Today and deputy editor for The Garden Island newspaper on Kauai. He's worked for over 15 years as a reporter for the Oahu-based Civil Beat news outlet, as well as in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Douglas Wyoming. Read Full Bio
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