PRINCEVILLE — When Benjamin Gillikin heard yelling near his Princeville home early Tuesday morning, he went to investigate.
It was then he saw golf course employee Anthony Apuna in pursuit of a “biblical-looking hobo” that area residents have been complaining about for months.
“Jesus attempted to climb onto my lanai as a path of escape, but in Anthony wouldn’t let him get away,” Gillikin wrote in an email to The Garden Island.
The man was Richard Isaac Leibman, 36. He was known to be living in the Hanalei area and wanted on a warrant since earlier this year. He had been reported missing since September 2013.
The chase began when a Princeville Golf Course employee saw Leibman trespassing on a private residence alongside a course fairway and called police.
Leibman attempted to climb onto Gillikin’s lanai, but Apuna held on to him while waiting for additional grounds crew to arrive. After Gillikin called 911, Leibman broke away and crashed through his ti leaf plants. Then he scrambled down the hillside through chest-high buffalo grass.
Three golf course workers were on Leibman’s heels as he reached the top of the hill near the sixth tee. He continued along the golf path toward the Anini path. The grounds crew surrounded Leibman at the bottom of the hill, overpowered him and held him to the ground. One of the employees sustained an injury to his left hand as a result of the incident.
Kauai Police Department arrested Leibman about 8:20 a.m. He is being held at KPD Cellblock on charges of third-degree assault.
Leibman may face additional charges from an arrest warrant in connection with a separate incident, according to county spokeswoman Sarah Blane.
Princeville residents reported that a man resembling Leibman has been seen in the area for months and was a suspect in at least one home burglary. One resident called Leibman a survivalist who lived off the land and had a camp near Anini path. He said they believe he was breaking into homes and stealing.
One resident said she confronted a man resembling Leibman in her home one evening. The man entered through an unlocked door in the garage and left when she shouted, leaving the food he took from her refrigerator but taking cash from her purse.
Kauai Police Department posted a bulletin to arrest Leibman for questioning on burglaries in January.
Leibman was in an out of court for most of 2012. With mental exams declaring him both fit and unfit for trial, his mother sought to cease her legal guardianship so he could be declared indigent and qualify for public defender services.
Leibman faced charges of first-degree burglary, second-degree theft, resisting arrest, first-degree escape, and two counts of first-degree assault against a law enforcement officer. The legal costs were adding up and Leibman’s mother’s assets were attributable to his application for representation.
When Leibman was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or disorder he was released from the charges. In the meantime, he was brought up on more burglary, theft and trespassing charges in Kekaha and Princeville.
Leibman’s mother arranged for him to live in a group home setting near her home in Texas. The court agreed to release him from charges to leave the jurisdiction without obligation to probation in Hawaii.
Leibman fled from the Lihue airport prior to his flight. Without charges or a requirement to comply with treatment in Texas, Leibman was a free man and continued to live a reclusive outdoor life on the North Shore.
Gillikin said a Honolulu attorney working for Leibman’s mother is attempting again to have him released for psychiatric treatment in Texas.
• Tom LaVenture, can be reached at 245-0424 or by emailing tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
