The deadly feud between Honorato and Gasmen families of Kauai, which that took place on Kauai between 1976 and 1995, originated when George Honorato testified against Rojelio Gasmen for Gasmen’s part in a 1976 Nawiliwili shooting incident that resulted in Gasmen being sentenced to five years in prison.
Thereafter, at Kumukumu Camp on the night of July 11, 1978, Rojelio Gasmen’s brother, Constante Gasmen, shot Honorato to death with a .308 rifle and was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
Through plea-bargaining, Constante Gasmen pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was free on bail awaiting sentencing on Nov. 7, 1978, when he reported for work at a Lihue Plantation canefield and was shot and killed by Narcisco Honorato in revenge for Gasmen’s July slaying of his brother, George.
At his June 1979 trial, Narcisco Honorato admitted that he killed Constante Gasmen to avenge his brother’s murder and was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Meanwhile, three months earlier, on March 16, 1979, another brother, Abraham Honorato, was shot in the shoulder as he drove home from his job at the Kauai Resort Hotel in Wailua, yet nothing further became of this incident, since police could find no suspects.
Violence continued to escalate, however, for on Jan. 7, 1988, still another brother, Gualberto Honorato, was shot in the back as he left Lihue Cafe.
Two men, believed to be members of the Gasmen family, were subsequently arrested, but were released from jail without charges, since Gualberto could not positively identify the gunman.
Then on August 22, 1988, Mario Gasmen, Rojelio and Constante Gasmen’s brother, was shot to death in Waipouli, but once again, police came up with no suspects.
Four years later, in November 1992, Rizalde Gasmen and Wilmar Gasmen shot at and wounded brother Casimiro Honorato off Kawaihau Road, and were convicted of assault and using a firearm in a felony, and were imprisoned.
The Honorato-Gasmen feud apparently ended in January 1995, after brother Vincente Honorato was sent to a state hospital after being deemed mentally unfit to stand trial on weapons charges.
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Hank Soboleski has been a resident of Kauai since the 1960s. Hank’s love of the island and its history has inspired him, in conjunction with The Garden Island Newspaper, to share the island’s history weekly. The collection of these articles can be found here: https://bit.ly/2IfbxL9 and here https://bit.ly/2STw9gi Hank can be reached at hssgms@gmail.com.
I sos, mess with those Filipinos and watch the action unfold, better than UFC! Bet hot tempers between both families are still there. You fool around my wife, I cut you with my knife