A 62-year-old man drove himself from Hawaiian Paradise Park to the Pahoa 7-Eleven Tuesday while bleeding profusely after allegedly being attacked by his son with a homemade machete, according to court documents filed by police.
Documents state David Benkosky told an acquaintance, a 56-year-old woman who attempted to tend to Benkosky’s wounds at the convenience store, that his 30-year-old son, Jason Benkosky, attacked him with the weapon after the older man dropped him off at the family’s old residence at the corner of 11th Avenue and Makuu Drive.
Officers who responded to the store at about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday found David Benkosky bleeding profusely from wounds to the side of his head, both forearms and other parts of his body, documents state. He was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where an emergency room doctor classified his injuries as serious and substantial and noted there might be a loss of function of the left hand.
According to documents, the father and son had an argument at the HPP house, and the younger man grabbed a black homemade machete and swung it at his father, causing deep lacerations to the forearms.
The victim ran back to his light blue Isuzu pickup truck and attempted to drive away. The man’s son, however, climbed onto the truck’s roof and continued to strike his father through the driver’s side window, causing lacerations to the victim’s left forearm, right palm, head and left foot, documents state.
Police also responded to a 4:15 p.m. call to what documents describe as “the dead-end side of Makuu Drive and 11th Ave” for the report of a man, possibly naked, yelling. Responding officers made contact with Jason Benkosky, “who was not naked, but appeared extremely intoxicated,” according to documents. Documents state Jason Benkosky had a black homemade machete which he threw onto the ground when officers arrived.
Officers returned to the HPP house at about 5:50 p.m. and arrested Jason Benkosky without incident.
On the drive to the Pahoa Police Station, Jason Benkosky told officers his father “tried to take my red nano-carbon battery which is my life, he might as well kill me,” according to documents. “That is why I did what I did.”
A search warrant was served on the HPP property and the pickup truck.
The search at the residence turned up “a black blade with teeth” about 14 inches long, on the driveway, and blood was found in both the exterior and interior of the truck, documents state.
Jason Benkosky is charged with first- and second-degree assault. The former is a Class B felony carrying a maximum 10-year prison term upon conviction, while the latter is a Class C felony with a potential five-year incarceration sentence.
Documents state Benkosky has no prior felony convictions or outstanding warrants.
On Friday, Hilo District Judge Kanani Laubach maintained Benkosky’s bail at $35,000 and ordered him to return for a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Benkosky remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
