Neighbor charged after man set on fire

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

A 40-year-old man was charged yesterday with one count of first-degree attempted murder after he allegedly squirted gasoline on a neighbor and set him on fire Monday near Punchbowl.

Keith Yamamoto was arrested soon after the 10:30 a.m. incident on Bush Lane. He also was charged with criminal property damage and terroristic threatening. Bail was set at $100,000.

Police said Yamamoto used his pickup truck to block a neighbor's car as the man, 37, was leaving his home with his wife, a sister and daughter. Yamamoto walked up to the man's Mercedes carrying a spear gun and swore at the family, according to a police affidavit filed yesterday in Circuit Court.

He smashed the driver's side window with a hammer, splashed a flammable liquid on the driver and tossed lit matches on him, the affidavit said. The man got out of the car with his shirt on fire and Yamamoto began to chase him, the affidavit said.

The victim flagged down a passing motorist and escaped, the affidavit said.

Police were in the area for a purse-snatching call when Yamamoto waved down an officer, who believed Yamamoto had been chasing the purse snatchers. But Yamamoto began to act strangely and talk about how he hated someone, according to the affidavit.

The officer said Yamamoto kept placing his hands behind his back, as if to be handcuffed. Then he told the officer he had set his neighbor on fire, and was arrested, the affidavit said.

The victim suffered burns to his back. His condition was not available yesterday.

Police did not say why he was attacked.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8025.