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B.J. Penn arrested for DUI on Hawaii island

William Cole
COURTESY HAWAII POLICE DEPARTMENT
                                B.J. Penn was arrested Saturday for operating a vehicle under the influence of intoxicants.
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COURTESY HAWAII POLICE DEPARTMENT

B.J. Penn was arrested Saturday for operating a vehicle under the influence of intoxicants.

UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn, 42, was arrested Saturday for operating a vehicle under the influence of intoxicants, the Hawaii Police Department said.

About 4:51 p.m., police officers from the Hamakua district responded to a report of a reckless driver on a business property in Honokaa, according to a release.

Upon arriving on scene, police said they learned through witnesses that the Hilo man had arrived at the business earlier in a gray Toyota pickup truck.

Prior to police arrival, Penn was observed talking loudly towards employees and later drove off the property in a reckless manner, according to the report.

“While officers were at the scene speaking with the business employees about the incident, they observed Penn return to the property,” the Hawaii Police Department said. “Officers contacted Penn and observing signs of impairment, arrested him for operating a vehicle under the influence of intoxicants.” Penn was later released pending further investigation.

The former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion was investigated last February on suspicion of DUI following a single-car crash in his hometown of Hilo, MMA Junkie reported.

In August of 2019, Penn was involved in a physical altercation outside a Big Island bar, according to video footage obtained by TMZ.

Penn was drinking with friends at the Lava Shack in Pahoa when he was involved in an altercation with another patron.

According to the TMZ video, Penn and another man exchange words outside the Hawaii island bar, with the other man first dropping Penn with a punch to the face before Penn recovers and attacks, ending up in a mounted position and raining down blows from above.

It was the second fight Penn was involved in that summer. Penn was on Oahu when he got into a fight outside strip club Femme Nu in June of 2019. No arrests were made in that case.

In 2018 Penn reportedly terrorized his estranged girlfriend in front of their two daughters and threatened to kill her family, per a court statement that alleged a 10-year history of intimidation and physical, sexual and verbal abuse.

Shealen Uaiwa described a series of disturbing incidents involving Penn in a handwritten statement submitted to Hilo Family Court to justify a temporary restraining order that was issued in October of that year, MMA Junkie reported.

UFC president Dana White told ESPN in September of 2019 that the former two-division world champion and UFC Hall of Famer would not compete again in the UFC.

“He won’t fight again, that’s it,” White told ESPN. “After what I saw in that video, BJ needs to, you know, he needs to focus on his personal life before he thinks about fighting.”

White was referring to the video posted by TMZ in which Penn was shown getting into a street fight on the Big Island.

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