A Democratic congressional candidate who made headlines after being knocked unconscious during a confrontation on a Maui beach has a considerably bigger problem than the viral video.
Kirill Basin, 40, is now facing felony charges stemming from three separate cases, with allegations ranging from threatening county employees with what appeared to be a firearm to assaulting a hospital nurse and threatening people during the Aug. 1 beach confrontation.
The latest case began at Keawakapu Beach in South Kihei, where video captured an argument over music escalating into a physical altercation.
The footage shows Basin shoving Kama Homan and then swinging a beach chair toward him. Homan deflected the chair before striking Basin, knocking him unconscious.
But prosecutors allege the confrontation involved considerably more than what was captured in the widely circulated portion of the video.
According to an Aug. 5 court filing, Basin threatened people at the beach with statements including, “I’ll put you in the ground” and “I’ll kill you.”
Prosecutors allege Basin then reached into a small black bag and asked, “Do I have a gun? I’ll kill you,” before producing a knife and brandishing it while another beachgoer attempted to calm the situation.
Basin has been charged with two counts of first-degree terroristic threatening in connection with the incident. At a Tuesday hearing, Judge Christopher Dunn found probable cause supporting a first-degree terroristic-threatening charge. Basin’s $1 million bail remained in place, and he was ordered to stay away from Homan and four other people as well as Keawakapu Beach and its parking lot.
The beach incident, however, is only the newest addition to a court history stretching back several months.
Basin’s first case of the year began May 2 with an arrest for disorderly conduct. Prosecutors alleged that he fought or threatened others, created excessive noise or used offensive language after being instructed to stop.
Then came a far more serious accusation.
A Maui grand jury indicted Basin on two first-degree terroristic-threatening counts involving a May 29 encounter with a County of Maui employee.
Prosecutors alleged that Basin approached the employee, removed a tan-and-green handgun from his backpack and made verbal threats involving the weapon. Two additional county employees witnessed the incident and feared for their lives, according to the prosecution.
Basin’s defense attorneys strongly contest that description.
They have argued that police reports and surveillance footage show Basin briefly displaying a pellet gun with its muzzle pointed downward rather than threatening anyone with it. According to the defense, Basin never pointed the pellet gun at the employees and actually told witnesses to contact police.
