An argument early Friday evening at the bar of the Grand Naniloa Hotel escalated into a hotel room incident in which a man allegedly pistol-whipped a woman, forcefully shoved the gun’s barrel into her mouth and threatened to kill her, according to court documents filed by police.
According to court documents, the victim, a 45-year-old woman told police the argument was about the man, 54-year-old Arvil Reed of Riverside, Calif., lying about his military service while at the bar. The victim told police once they returned to their hotel room, Reed retrieved a Sig Sauer .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol from his luggage. He then allegedly inserted a magazine, cocked the gun, then struck the victim on the right temple, causing pain and swelling to the area — as well as causing the woman to fall onto the bed.
The woman said Reed then got on top of her and drove his left forearm into her throat to impede her breathing, causing her to nearly pass out, documents state. He then allegedly shoved the barrel of the handgun into her mouth, chipping her front teeth, and repeatedly told her he was going to kill her, documents state.
Once Reed got off the woman, she escaped the hotel room and dialed 911 while in the hallway, according to documents. Reed attempted to pursue the victim, documents state, but she escaped down a fire escape stairwell and waited in the housekeeping office until police arrived.
Police say they arrested Reed without incident and he voluntarily told them the handgun was in the hotel room, according to documents.
The woman was treated by fire department medics at the hotel, but refused to be transported to the hospital.
Reed was charged with attempted second-degree murder, kidnapping, carrying a firearm in the commission of a felony, being a felon in possession of a firearm, first-degree terroristic threatening and two counts of second-degree assault.
According to court documents, Reed has one felony conviction in California for theft of a credit card.
The most serious offense, attempted second-degree murder, carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole, upon conviction. The complaint, however, alleges Reed is a multiple offender, and if sentenced as such on the attempted murder charge, he could receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
At Reed’s initial court appearance Monday Hilo District Judge Jeffrey Hawk maintained Reed’s bail at $680,000 and ordered him to return to court on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.