Kalihi fight leaves one dead

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

One man is dead and a second hospitalized after an argument over a cockfight Friday night at a lower Kalihi home.

Police homicide Lt. Bill Kato said yesterday that the violence broke out after the cockfight at 686 Bannister St.

No one was arrested yesterday, but police interviewed witnesses and examined a surveillance camera from nearby Laumaka Corrections Center, which may have recorded the fighting.

Witnesses told police the argument started behind the house but moved toward Bannister Street as the cockfight crowd left.

It escalated into violence as a 41-year-old man picked up a stick and attacked a half-dozen men. They took the stick away from him and beat him with it.

The beaten man's 39-year-old friend was then beaten after he followed the group down Bannister Street toward Bannister Place and continued the argument.

The two men were taken to The Queen's Medical Center, both in critical condition. The 39-year-old man died about 2:30 p.m. yesterday.

Lt. Kato said the 41-year-old man's condition was upgraded to guarded yesterday afternoon.

Police made no arrests on cockfighting charges. Kato said the law requires officers to witness the cockfight before charges can be filed.

Reach Karen Blakeman at kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2430.