Attack highlights dangers to homeless

The fatal assault on a 62-year-old man by a group of young men or boys Friday in Pawaa touched off the latest murder investigation tied to the death of a homeless individual in Honolulu.

Police said the man was assaulted at about 3:10 a.m. near the corner of South King and Punahou streets. Paramedics transported the man in critical condition to a hospital, according to Emergency Medical Services.

A Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman said he later died, and police opened a murder investigation.

Police said they are looking for three suspects.

Jeffrey Smith, a witness and friend of the victim, said he saw four teenagers who later fled the scene on bicycles.

Smith, 56, identified the victim as Paul Manner.

Smith, who is homeless, said he and Manner had been living for about eight months in front of Pinder, a surf shop on South King Street near Punahou Street.

Early Friday morning, Smith said he awoke to Manner whispering, "Some punk kids are messing with me."

Smith said he then saw Manner take five steps toward the four teens, who were roughly 16 to 18 years old.

"They (mobbed) him into a wall in the alley, and he came flying out," Smith said.

Smith said Manner may have been a bit aggressive, but the teens appeared to be on drugs.

After the assault, "they got on their bikes and they casually rode off," Smith said.

Smith said Manner often waved at traffic with an umbrella and appeared to suffer from some sort of mental impairment.

Manner described himself as Hawaiian-Caucasian, Smith said, adding that his friend had also told him that his birthplace was Los Angeles and that he was a graduate of Kalani High School. In addition, Smith said, "He was media, like a reporter."

Connie Mitchell, executive director for the Institute for Human Services, said Friday, "Incidents like these point to the increasing vulnerability of older people who are homeless."

On Dec. 3, an 83-year-old homeless man was beaten in Chinatown. Mamerto "Eddie" Semana was found unconscious with severe head injuries early that morning on College Walk and Kukui Street, and was taken to the hospital at 3:30 a.m. where he later died.

R.J. Marsolo, 18, has been charged with second-degree murder in the case.

"It came as quite a shock and sad realization that it was one of our guests who come here to have a meal," Mitchell said.

"The median age of homeless people is getting older."

That is due to people who are the aging chronic homeless, and "those losing housing on the higher age range, who are living on fixed incomes," she said. "If the cost of housing continues to go up, do the math, it isn’t going to work."

Statistics on the National Coalition for the Homeless website show that whenever assaults happened on vulnerable older people, many times the perpetrators are younger people under the age of 30 and often under the age of 20, Mitchell said.

Seventy-two percent of hate crimes or violent crimes committed against homeless persons in 2010 were by persons under the age of 30, and 50 percent under the age of 20.

"My concern is that people don’t think, ‘This person was homeless anyway,’" Mitchell said. "Ultimately it points to the fact that we do need to take seriously when people are under the influence of alcohol or drugs."

Mitchell noted that within the last month there were three reports of assaults on homeless individuals in the Iwilei area.

In October, Lynn Riley, 49, died of bleeding within the skull due to blunt-force injury from an assault at Aala Park. Police arrested a 58-year-old homeless man in that case.

Smith described Manner a "public protector," adding, "He always had a watchful eye on the public."

On Dec. 21, Catholic Charities Hawaii held a memorial for 18 homeless known to have died this year from various causes.

Barbara Burns, an area resident, brought a handwritten prayer and a crocheted lei on Friday to post on the alley wall where Manner was assaulted.

"Nobody deserved that," she said. "My heart is broken."