Former Rep. Vicente Camacho, left, leaves the courtroom during a break from Monday’s bench trial.
Teipo A. Nikiti is a co-defendant in the case.
STEVEN Koch, the victim in a 2021 assault case involving former Rep. Vicente C. Camacho and co-defendant Teipo A. Nikiti, testified remotely during a bench trial on Monday.
Koch, a former Commonwealth Ports Authority master electrician, recounted to the Superior Court what transpired on the evening of Oct. 29, 2021.
Koch said that after a routine walk with his daughter, they passed the house of his brother-in-law, Ignacio Concepcion, and saw Camacho coming out of the driveway.
Koch said he told Camacho to stop calling CPA.
Koch said Camacho had called his work and made a complaint about Koch driving recklessly.
Koch said he later felt three individuals following him and his daughter. He said the three were Camacho, a minor, and Nikiti.
Koch said that when he turned, he saw Camacho about to lunge at him. He said he grabbed Camacho’s hands, and they struggled, ending up on the ground by the side of the road.
He said he felt blow after blow on his head. He said he must have blacked out.
On cross-examination, Koch said he did not actually see who punched him. He also said that he had never seen or met Nikiti before the incident.
Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds is prosecuting the case. Attorney Michael White represents Camacho, while Assistant Public Defender Emily Thomsen appeared for Nikiti.
Camacho, 64, and Nikiti, 24, were charged with assault and battery and disturbing the peace.
According to the prosecution, Koch suffered abrasions, bruising and pain on his head and body from the blows sustained during the incident, which stemmed from a long-standing animosity between Koch and his brother-in-law, Concepcion, a friend of Camacho.
Previous statements
In a previous statement to the police, Camacho said that prior to the incident, he came to Concepcion’s residence to pick up his 14-year-old son. He said they were already leaving the place when he saw Koch, who had what appeared to be a whip with something sharp attached to it.
Koch, in a separate statement, said he used the whip to ward off dogs.
Camacho told the police that he said “hello” to Koch, who then “started whipping me three times.”
“I jumped him, I wanted to subdue him,” Camacho said. At this juncture, he said, Koch’s daughter intervened and said, “Don’t hurt my dad.”
Koch’s daughter told police that she saw her father being taken to the ground by Camacho while he was held by Nikiti and the juvenile.
She said Camacho, Nikiti and the juvenile punched her father on his head.
She said she was near Camacho, and she could smell a strong odor of beer in his exhaled breath.
Superior Court Judge Kenneth L. Govendo is presiding over the case.
The bench trial will continue today, Tuesday.
