Camacho arrested in alleged assault case

Rep. Vicente Camacho (D-Saipan) is arrested in connection with an allegation that he and others assaulted a man over the weekend.
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Rep. Vicente Camacho (D-Saipan) was arrested last night in connection with an allegation that he and others assaulted a man over the weekend.

There were no immediate details about Camacho’s arrest other than that it was in the execution of an arrest warrant.

Camacho was reportedly brought to Kanoa Resort as part of protocol to have any new arrestee tested for COVID-19 first before being brought to the Department of Corrections for processing.

An earlier report states that Steve Koch, who has accused Camacho of conspiring with two others to assault him over the weekend, had applied for a temporary restraining against the lawmaker and others.

Koch, through attorney Charity Hodson, applied yesterday for a temporary restraining order against Camacho, two unnamed individuals, and Ignacio Concepcion in Superior Court.

Hodson said that Koch wants a restraining to prevent Camacho and the others from engaging in further physical harm, threats, disturbance, harassment, blocking, and verbal abuse against him and his family.

“Petitioners seek an emergency order for protection because [they] are victims of domestic violence by Camacho and Concepcion. They are terrified and fear for their personal safety and desire to prevent any further violence and harassment upon them,” Hodson said.

Hodson has requested the court to order the respondents, including Camacho, to stay at least 200 yards away from Koch and his family, and to order the respondents not to interfere with their access to Freedom Drive, China Town, the road they share with Concepcion within the Concepcion family compound.

In addition, Hodson is asking the court to order the respondent to stay at least 200 yards away from Koch and his wife in their place of work, specifically the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport and the DCCA Childcare Development Fund.

As of yesterday evening, there was no hearing date yet for the request for a restraining order. In addition, the Department of Public Safety said that no arrest warrant had been issued for the arrest of Camacho or the men allegedly involved in the assault.

According to court documents, prior to the Oct. 29 alleged assault, there had been animosity between Concepcion and his siblings, including Koch’s wife, Magdalena Concepcion-Koch. Camacho, who is also related to Concepcion, allegedly aligned himself with Concepcion, inserting himself in the family’s feud.

“Camacho, for his part, has [been] injecting himself into the Concepcion family matters as he has aligned himself with Concepcion. Prior to the Oct. 29 incident, Koch had not had any problems with Camacho nor did Magdalena,” the document stated.

On Oct. 29, Koch alleges that two altercations happened; one between him and Concepcion, and the other was the alleged beating led by Camacho.

At around 4am that day, as Koch was driving home through Freedom Drive and he passed the home Concepcion was living in. Concepcion allegedly approached Koch’s company-issued vehicle with a machete, yelling “stop disturbing my property. I’m going to call the police,” before striking the left rear of the vehicle.

Camacho, for his part, allegedly called CPA again that day to complain that Koch was abusing the company vehicle and was speeding up and down Freedom Drive.

Later that evening, at around 11pm, Koch and his daughter went for their evening walk along Freedom Drive and passed Concepcion’s home.

Koch stated that joining Concepcion at the house that evening was Camacho, and his two nephews. As they were walking through the Concepcion compound, they passed right in front of Concepcion’s home where Camacho allegedly came out with his other nephew.

When Koch told Camacho to stop calling him at work, that’s when the men allegedly began to attack him.

Court documents state that the men continued to beat Koch even when he was already on the ground and only pulled back when his daughter begged them not to.

Camacho allegedly knelt on Koch’s neck while he was on the ground while the other two men hit him on the head.