Pittsburgh Man Benjamin Fleming Charged After Deadly Hawaii Vacation Rental Fight
HONOLULU (AP/KDKA) — A tourist from Pittsburgh has been charged with manslaughter after a deadly fight in a Hawaii vacation rental, police said.
A second tourist from Boston who had been arrested was released with no charges filed, police on the Big Island said Wednesday.
Police were called to a Kailua-Kona vacation rental early Monday where a 30-year-old man wasn't breathing. The man was later identified as Abhishek Gupta of Pittsburgh. The cause of death was strangulation.
A preliminary investigation found that an argument between the men turned physical, police said.
Benjamin Fleming, 37, of Pittsburgh and Alexander Germany-Wald, 31, of Boston were arrested. Fleming was later charged while Germany-Wald was released after police conferred with prosecutors.
A judge on Wednesday declined a request by Fleming's attorney to release him or lower his bail. Fleming has a plane ticket to return to Pennsylvania on Sunday and pandemic-related restrictions on travel will make it unfeasible for him to return for court hearings, the judge said in keeping his bail at $250,000.
Defense attorney Christopher Eggert also asked to postpone Fleming's preliminary hearing to next week and noted that his client doesn't have a criminal history.
Germany-Wald couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
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