Federal Charge Filed in Kahului Airport Case

Wednesday, March 03, 2004  

Federal Charge Filed in Airport Case 
Maui News, HI

HONOLULU - A federal charge of disrupting the services
of an airport has been brought against Paul Blatchley,
a 52-year-old Haiku man who drove a sport utility
vehicle into the Kahului Airport ticket lobby Sunday,
then set it on fire. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Porter said on Tuesday
that Blatchley's actions were charged as a violation
of a U.S. Code relating to violence at an
international airport. 
Blatchley made his initial appearance in U.S. District
Court on Oahu Tuesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate
Judge Leslie Kobayashi. Blatchley's public defender,
Shanlyn Park, did not comment on the case. 

Porter said Blatchley is being held at the Federal
Detention Center on Oahu while awaiting a detention
hearing on Friday. A preliminary hearing on the charge
against him was set for March 15. 

Charges against Blatchley by Maui police have been
dropped by the Maui County prosecutor's office, said
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Tam. Blatchley had
been charged with first-degree attempted murder and
criminal property damage, state offenses that carry
maximum penalties of life in prison without parole and
10 years imprisonment, respectively. 

Tam said Tuesday morning that it would be possible to
renew the state charges against Blatchley, although he
indicated that would be unlikely since the Haiku man
will be prosecuted through the federal courts. 

Porter said he doesn't know if any other federal
charges will be brought against Blatchley, noting that
the investigation is ongoing.

According to documents filed in support of the charge
in federal court, investigators found three containers
of gasoline in the vehicle that was set on fire. The
situation that could have resulted in an explosion if
the fire had not been contained and extinguished
within 10 or 15 minutes by airport and Maui County
firefighters. 

Porter said the charge involving violence at an
international airport could carry a sentence of up to
20 years in prison, but that would depend on the
details of the case. 

"We're not exactly sure how the guidelines would
factor out. What the eventual sentence could be would
probably be guessing at this point," he said. 

But the charge is supported by the facts of the case. 

"This is what the guy did: He disrupted service . .
disrupted service of airports," Porter said. 

The incident Sunday morning halted departing airport
traffic for 9 1/2 hours, stranding hundreds of
travelers, many of whom remained on Maui for an
additional day or longer. Flights coming into Kahului
were able to land and disembark passengers on Sunday,
but a number of flights left Maui empty. 

Blatchley drove a dark blue Dodge Durango sport
utility vehicle into the south end of the Kahului
Airport ticket lobby via a disabled-access ramp around
7:58 a.m. Sunday. 

The vehicle stopped 20 feet short of ticket counters.
Officials said no people were in the area at the time,
and no injuries were reported. 

When Blatchley stopped the vehicle, several airport
porters approached the vehicle and said they saw him
pour a flammable liquid in the back seat and ignite
it. Several agricultural inspectors initially pulled
him from the burning vehicle, while he protested and
struggled. Security guards eventually subdued him.

A friend who shared a house with Blatchley, Francis
Lobik, said Monday that Blatchley had been depressed
for some time, blaming himself for being unable to
revive a swimmer who drowned at Makena Beach a month
ago. 

He said Blatchley had no prior criminal record and is
in need of counseling, not incarceration. 


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