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Man acquitted of charges he assaulted his brother

The Maui News

WAILUKU — A Molokai man who testified he was trying to avoid being hit when he grabbed his brother has been acquitted of assault and abuse charges.

Marcus Helm, 39, was found not guilty of the misdemeanor charges in a verdict returned March 6 by a 2nd Circuit Court jury.

“He was justified in the force he used that day,” Deputy Public Defender Tyler Stevenson said after the verdict was announced. “He’s going back home with a positive outcome. I think the family will be better off.”

Helm had been charged with abuse and third-degree assault after police were called to his family’s Hawaiian homestead land in Hoolehua the morning of May 30.

Officers arrived to find Michael Helm with lacerations on his chest and back, said Sgt. Emily Kibby. She said blood was dripping from the chest wound.

On the hood of a truck, police recovered pruning shears with a 2-inch blade that appeared to have dried blood and a hair on its tip, Kibby said.

That morning, Michael Helm had gone to the homestead where his mother and brother Marcus live to farm his taro patch, Deputy Prosecutor Brandon Segal said in his opening statement to jurors.

He said the brothers argued before the argument turned physical and Marcus Helm head-butted his brother. “The defendant is the one who became violent,” Segal said.

He said Michael Helm, who is bigger, was trying to calm his brother and had him in a hold on the ground so he couldn’t move.

Marcus Helm warned his brother to get off before Michael Helm saw the blood from the laceration, which required 12 to 13 sutures across his chest, Segal said.

Stevenson said the brothers argued after Marcus Helm politely asked his brother to leave the part of the property where Marcus Helm was living in a studio ohana.

After saying he had a right to be there too, Michael Helm ended up face to face with his brother, Stevenson said. He said the bill of Marcus Helm’s baseball cap hit Michael Helm, who then shoved his brother.

Marcus Helm stepped back and saw his brother reaching back to hit him when Marcus Helm grabbed his brother in a “bear hug,” Stevenson said.

The two wrestled before they stopped fighting and separated, Stevenson said.

Marcus Helm testified in his defense.

“He was forthright. He was sincere,” Stevenson said. “I think the jury saw that.”

Judge Richard Bissen presided over the trial.

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