UFC Hall of Fame mixed martial artist BJ Penn failed to show up in court Tuesday in a domestic abuse case after being arrested twice over the Memorial Day weekend at his family’s Puueo Street home in Hilo.
Penn, who won UFC titles as a welterweight and lightweight, was charged with physically abusing his 79-year-old mother, businesswoman Lorraine Shin, and then refusing to comply with the lawful order of a police officer for allegedly returning to the house after being told to stay away for at least 48 hours.
According to a police log, the 46-year-old Penn — whose legal name is Jay Dee Penn — was to have appeared Tuesday in Hilo Family Court. Penn, after posting $2,000 for the domestic abuse charge and $1,000 for the refusal to comply charge, was a no-show in court, according to prosecutors.
A bench warrant for Penn’s arrest has been issued by Hilo Family Court Judge Darien Ching Nagata.
Both charges are misdemeanors. Penn, who’s had multiple run-ins with authorities over the past several years, has never been convicted of a felony.
In addition, both Shin and Penn on Tuesday filed civil petitions for court orders of protection from each other.
Penn’s petition was terminated by the court on Tuesday, with the court ruling that his allegations — which include his mother having taken control of his bank accounts, cars, phones and real property, and that she carries a silver handgun — “do not establish a basis for relief” under the law. The petition was denied without prejudice, which means Penn is free to refile another petition.
The initial arrest of Penn on criminal charges occurred at 9:40 p.m. Sunday. Penn was released at 1:48 a.m. Monday after posting bail.
The retired cage fighter was taken into police custody again at 9:34 a.m. Monday and released at 3 p.m. after again posting bail.
Penn posted on Instagram a video of him being surrounded by police officers Sunday night as he lay in bed at the family home, and of them leading him, barefoot and in handcuffs, downstairs. Penn appeared to be compliant with officers in the video, but didn’t seem to understand why he was being arrested.
He has posted on social media that he believes his mother has been murdered and a lookalike imposter has taken her place. Penn also has posted he believes the same fate has befallen his brothers, J.D. Penn, Reagan Penn and Kalani Mamazuka, and has used Instagram to request that Hawaii Police Department launch an investigation into their murders.
He claimed on social media that the imposters are attempting to steal everything from his family.
In her petition, Shin said she returned May 11 from a weekend visit to Maui and found her clothes, jewelry, bed and other personal items removed from her bedroom.
According to Shin, BJ Penn said he didn’t know what happened to her belongings, and she filed a theft report with police. She added that on May 16, her purse with her driver’s license and credit cards, plus the lock to her safe were stolen. She again filed a police report.
“My son claimed that all the items in the safe were his,” Shin wrote.
According to Shin, she then put a deadbolt on her bedroom door and installed security cameras, and Penn was caught on video removing the cameras and later duct-taped them. She also claimed there was glue put in her deadbolt so she couldn’t enter her bedroom, but Penn denied having done that.
It all came to a head on Sunday, according to the petition. Shin wrote there was no mail in her mailbox on Friday or Saturday, and Penn denied taking mail. She claimed she saw Penn by a friend’s rented sedan, and there was mail in the back seat.
According to Shin, Penn denied that the mail in the car was hers, but she “knew it was my mail” and “immediately tried to call police.”
Shin claimed her son “shoved his flashlight directly into my eyes to blind me from dialing my cellphone.” She wrote that when she tried to grab the flashlight and remove it from her face, Penn “grabbed me and shoved me against the 4-door gray sedan (and) I felt a sharp pain in my back.”
Shin wrote that she screamed and her son Reagan Penn came to her rescue. She then dialed 911, according to the petition, the police came to arrest BJ Penn the first time, and the mail turned out to be hers.
In the petition, Shin said she believes BJ Penn suffers from Capgras syndrome, a psychiatric disorder in which the afflicted believes a family member, friend or acquaintance has been replaced by an identical or nearly identical imposter.
“In the best interest for my safety, I ask the court for a 6 months TRO and have my son ordered to get medical treatment or other source of therapy,” Shin wrote.
A hearing about Shin’s petition has been set for 8 a.m. June 10.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
