Assault suspect has history of violence

A 51-year-old man, charged Tuesday with the assault of a woman in her 80s, critically injuring her, had been released from the State Hospital, where he was committed in 2016 for an assault.

Prosecutors on Tuesday charged Steven I. Ho, who has a history of violent crimes, with first-degree assault. His bail was set at $50,000.

The woman was at a bus stop at Hotel and Alakea streets when Ho approached her at about 5:30 a.m. Monday, then hit and kicked her, police said. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition with head injuries.

Officers found Ho, who has no local address, nearby and arrested him on suspicion of first-degree assault.

Court records show Ho had been committed to the State Hospital on Aug. 1 for third-degree assault, a misdemeanor.

At some point within the past seven months, Ho was released from the State Hospital, and committed another crime as recently as Feb. 22.

Police arrested Ho on Feb. 22 at an Oahu school for first-degree criminal trespassing between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. He pleaded no contest to the charge and was sentenced to two days in jail.

Department of Health spokeswoman Janice Okubo said confidentiality laws prohibit her from releasing information about mental health patients committed to the State Hospital. She would not say when Ho was released.

In general, a judge releases patients who are committed by the court, she said. Civilly committed patients must meet the criteria for release. If so, they are asked whether they want to continue treatment.

“If they refuse they can be released,” she said.

Okubo could not confirm whether Ho was court-­committed. That appears likely since he was committed for a crime.

Ho’s conviction record includes parole violation in 2008; third-degree assault in 2006; two first-degree robberies, kidnapping and two first-degree burglaries in 1986; and a second-degree robbery in 1984.

The assault has drawn the ire of the community.

“It’s disgusting. I’m so angry,” said Chu Lan Shubert-­Kwock, president of the Chinatown Business and Community Association and Chinatown Neighborhood Board member. “They pick on the weak and elderly. Most older people hang onto their purses. They can’t defend themselves.”

Six elderly women were robbed and assaulted in Chinatown in March, including a shopkeeper who was clubbed with a steel pipe, she said.

Shubert-Kwock said she blames the mayor for not having a plan for Chinatown, and police for failing to regularly patrol the area.