REPRESENTATIVE Vicente Camacho was arrested at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday for allegedly assaulting Commonwealth Ports Authority’s master electrician Steven L. Koch, Variety learned.
This photo, which was circulated online Tuesday evening, shows police officers arresting Rep. Vicente Camacho.
Camacho was detained and will appear for a bail hearing in Superior Court in the morning today, Wednesday.
On Monday, Koch, his wife and daughter filed a petition in Superior Court, seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent Camacho and three other individuals “from engaging in any further physical harm, disturbance, harassment, blocking, threats and verbal abuse.”
Koch, who is represented by attorney Charity Hodson, said he was assaulted by Camacho, Camacho’s two nephews and an employee or tenant of Ignacio “Ike” Salas Concepcion.
The incident, which stemmed from a long-standing animosity between Koch and his brother-in-law, Concepcion, took place near the homes of Koch and Camacho on Freedom Drive, Chinatown around 11 p.m. on Friday.
Responding police officers conducted separate interviews after the incident because both Camacho and Koch called the police almost at the same time.
In his official statement to the police, Camacho said he came to Concepcion’s residence to pick up his 14-year-old son. They were leaving the place when he saw Koch who had what appeared to be a whip with something sharp attached to it.
Camacho told the police that he said “hello,” but Koch “started whipping me three times.”
“I jumped him, I wanted to subdue him,” the lawmaker said. At this juncture, Koch’s daughter intervened and said, “Don’t hurt my dad.”
Camacho added that he let go of Koch who ran away.
According to Camacho, “Steven [Koch] did not say anything before whipping me, nothing verbal and it was dark.”
A martial arts instructor, Camacho told police that all he wanted to do was to subdue Koch. But he said they fell down together to the ground and struggled “like in a wrestling match.”
Camacho’s 14-year-old son, in a separate statement to the police, said he believes Koch “targeted” him because he was the one who reported to CPA how Koch recklessly drove a government-issued truck over speed bumps on Freedom Drive.
Family matter
Koch, in an interview, said he and Concepcion are brothers-in-law. Koch is married to Concepcion’s sister.
Koch said there had been an animosity between him and Concepcion for a long time. He also said that Concepcion has “a habit of influencing other people for his own fight.”
Koch believes that Rep. Vicente Camacho is one of those people that Concepcion was able to “recruit” against Koch.
Koch said the initial hostilities have involved Concepcion’s “authoritarian attitude to his siblings, demanding strict adherence to his rules or standards or else suffer being ostracized or worse, assaulted or beaten.”
Koch said several weeks ago, his wife and Concepcion “had a verbal exchange [during which she] registered her disagreement with Ignacio’s heavy-handed approach. Since then, matters have deteriorated and taken a turn for the worst.”
Koch stated that he himself has had his frustrations with Concepcion on account of a piggery situated above their residence
“The smell and stench from the piggery are overpowering and Ignacio has refused to stop or remove the piggery despite [our] complaints,” Koch said.
Even so, he added, he has not done anything to provoke, harass or bother Concepcion.
Several weeks ago, Koch said, he was walking with his daughter on Freedom Drive and came across Concepcion’s dogs.
Koch said after he cracked his handmade bullwhip to scare off the dogs, he and his daughter were confronted by Concepcion and his worker/tenant at the family compound.
Koch said the worker/tenant threatened him and told him that he, the worker/tenant, would beat up Koch.
Koch said he filed a complaint and report with the Department of Public Safety regarding the confrontation, but he said to date there had been no interview or follow-up as to that incident.
“Vicente Camacho, for his part, has injected himself into the Concepcion family matters as he has aligned himself with Ignacio,” Koch said in a declaration.
Koch said Camacho has visited and frequents Ignacio at the Concepcion family house on many occasions.
More recently after being elected Precinct 3 representative, Camacho has made several direct calls to Koch’s employer, using the color of his office and his position as an elected official, Koch added.
In these calls, including calls to the CPA executive director and deputy director, Koch said Camacho has claimed that Koch has been abusing the CPA government vehicle by speeding. Camacho also demanded “action” against Koch.
According to Koch, CPA management has checked into the complaint and found it to be without basis.
He said he does drive a CPA vehicle as he is often called in for emergencies after hours.
Official declaration
In his official declaration to the Superior Court, Koch recounted an incident that took place on the day he was assaulted.
He said at approximately 4:45 a.m., he was “slowly driving by” Concepcion’s garage when Concepcion yelled at him, saying, “Hey, you m*****f*****!” Concepcion then “approached me with [a] machete in his left hand raised above his head,” Koch said.
“As I passed, he struck my truck hitting the top left side of bed side above the gas tank fill lid. The hit put a nick in the plastic bed liner that covers the top of the bed side,” Koch added.
At approximately 4 p.m. on the same day, Koch said “a colleague came to my house informing me that Ed Manglona, [the CPA] acting director, wanted to speak to me. Our phone conversation was over [Rep.] Vicente Camacho inquiring as to the status of disciplinary action taken against me based on a call he placed last month stating that I was abusing the company vehicle.”
Koch said, “Ed did not know the history; the original call was to [CPA Executive Director] Chris Tenorio. The conclusion of the original call was that it was not his [Camacho’s] place to call CPA and the issue was based on a family matter for which he had no business mixing personal affairs with CPA. I did file a complaint over the matter with the [attorney general] on Oct. 5, 2021,” Koch said.
The assault
He said at approximately 11 p.m., he and his daughter “were headed out for our routine walk/runs. As we turned the corner approaching Ike’s driveway a guy that was bouncing a basketball at the house to the right stopped and started closing in behind us. As we were approaching Ike’s driveway, Vicente Camacho and another guy [were] approaching us from the driveway. I told Vicente to stop calling my work. As we were walking all three were closing the gap between us, then Vicente lunged forward.”
Koch said he tried to hold onto Camacho “to prevent him from using karate. But the other two started hitting me in the head. After the blows to the head started, I can only remember being pinned to the ground receiving multiple blows to the head, left and right side of my skull and the back of my right ear.”
Koch added, “All I knew after that point were hard hits and flashes of light on each hit continuously. It felt as if they were trying to crush my skull [with] each blow. If my daughter was not there, they were going to kill me. I can only assume her pleas finally caused Vicente to agree to stop and once I was free enough, I slipped between their legs, and I went back home to call the police.”
Koch stated that Concepcion did nothing to stop Camacho or his nephews, and that only after Camacho took his knee off Koch’s neck did Concepcion call the police.
“After police arrived and took reports, no one was arrested — not Vicente nor his nephews,” Koch added.
Koch was taken to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation for examination.
As a result of the attack, Koch suffered abrasions, bruising, and pain on his head and body from the blows.
200 yards away
In his petition for order of protection pursuant to Public Law 12-19 or the Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Act of 2000, Koch is asking the court to direct the respondents to stay at least 200 yards away from him and his family at all times, including their residence in Chinatown, and to cease and desist from any further threats, intimidation, annoyance, harassment and contact, including any effort to block, interfere or impede their access on Freedom Drive on the family compound.
Koch also wants the respondents to stay at least 200 yards away from him and his wife, at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs-Childcare Development Fund and anywhere on Saipan or the CNMI.
Vicente Camacho
