Two witnesses who testified over the past week in the racketeering trial of former Honolulu business owner Michael J. Miske Jr. identified Andrew Albert Perry Kim as one of the attackers in a 2011 assault of a bartender from Miske’s M Nightclub. Miske allegedly accused the bartender of skimming money from his bar, and the victim was then severely beaten. He eventually lost an eye, believed to have been the result of trauma received in the 2011 attack.
The identifications came from two directions. The victim, David Bass, identified two of the men responsible as Kim and Alfredo Cabael.
Then Cabael, who testified this week in the Miske trial, described the assault from a participant’s perspective and said Kim, also known as “Drew,” had led the attack while Miske stood by.
I’ve seen Kim mentioned in other investigative documents for providing “muscle” for Miske, and for involvement in drug trafficking that allegedly occurred under the umbrella of Miske’s organization.
But the mention of his name reminded me of another attack he was involved in, and sent me digging back into my files.
Two years before Andrew Kim allegedly took part in the beating of bartender, he was took part in a similar assault at The Shack in Waikiki on December 1, 2009.
That incident happened just outside the club that, like Miske’s M Nightclub, had a reputation for violence. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that between 2008 and 2011, The Shack had been “fined five times by the Honolulu Liquor Commission, including twice for failing to suppress violence against a customer.”
On this occasion, a man went to The Shack because he believed his girlfriend had been served a roofie while at the club. He entered and apparently confronted with one of the owners or managers.
“We were arguing, and I woke up on a stretcher,” he said later in a statement to police.
HPD Detective Bienvenido Villaflor later viewed a security video of the incident, and signed a statement describing what he saw in the video. Villaflor is the son of Ben Villaflor, the former pro boxer who has served as Sergeant at Arms of the Hawaii State Senate since 1979. A copy of the statement was included in the court file when felony assault charges were filed against Kim and a co-defendant several years after the attack.
“I observed a male known to me as “Drew,” Detective Villaflor said.
Villaflor said he was familiar with Andrew Kim, and a second man involved, Tory Winward, from previous encounters.
Interestingly, Winward was decribed as wearing wearing “a black t-shirt with a ‘Defend Hawaii’ logo.”
The company that produces and distributes the Defend Hawaii line of clothing and accessories is owned by Michael Buntenbah, also known as Michael Buntenbah Malone, one of Mike Miske’s co-defendants who is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to a charge of assault in aid of racketeering. He had been free on bond pending sentencing until his freedom was revoked, and his $250,000 bond forfeited, after he was caught in a video recording instigating an assault on a man in a Waikiki restaurant and bar.
According to Villaflor’s statement:
I observed KIM walk up to a male and punch the male in the face using his right fist. The male immediately dropped to the ground and appeared motionless. KIM then stood over the motionless male and appeared to throw two (2) more punches toward the male’s upper body. A heavy set male steps between KIM and the defenseless male. KIM appears to walk away, but quickly returns. The male victim appears helpless and incoherent. The male victim attempts to get up but is unable to do so.
KIM then walks up to the defenseless male victim and punches him three (3) more times in the face and kicks him with a soccer style kick to his face. The male victim quickly goes motionless again for a few seconds. He then slowly struggled to get up but appeared to be disoriented and dazed. The male victim falls down at least six (6) times while attempting to get to his feet. At one point, the male victim falls over a protective barrier used to block one of the escalators.
At this time, several bystanders appear to approach the male victim trying to assist him. At this time, WINWARD walks over and gets involved. WINWARD approached and stood over the defenseless male victim. WINWARD then threw a hard uppercut punch to the male victim’s face. The punch thrown by WINWARD caused the male victim to fly several feet away and back down to the ground.
KIM then grabbed WINWARD and stopped WINWARD from further advancing toward the male victim. The male victim again struggled to get up and appeared to be severely disoriented. The male victim was wobbling from side to side and struggled to regain his footing.
Both men later pleaded “no contest” to a reduced charge of asssault in the 3rd degree, a misdemeanor. They were each sentenced to one year probation.
Less than two years after the assault at The Shack, Miske was able to call on Kim to provide “muscle.”
