Defense attorney explains why rock was hurt at endangered monk seal

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Hawaii attorney representing the monk seal harassment suspect is Myles Breiner. On Friday, I defined Igor Lytvynchuk’s aspect of the story.

“There were two large turtles in the water. When he threw the rock, the intention was to scare the seal away. He had no idea, again, the significance of monk seals. He frankly didn’t know we had seals in Hawaii,” Breiner stated.

Breiner stated Lytvynchuk, 38, has beforehand handled sea lions as a fisherman in Washington, and is aware of how aggressive they are often. So when he and his spouse had been admiring turtles within the space, he needed to scare the sign off.

“He assumed that when he saw the seal, the monk seal, pushing the turtles off of the rocks, that he was doing something good by scaring it away,” Breiner stated.

When requested if he was apologetic at all, Breiner responded, “Oh, absolutely. He’s devastated at the notion that people thought he wanted to injure the seal.”

Regarding Lytvynchuk’s feedback that he was “rich enough to pay the ends,” Breiner stated his shopper is just not a rich man, however was somewhat underneath strain of the second.

“It comes off sounding like he’s bragging or being arrogant. OK, and that was possibly in response to people yelling at him and he was embarrassed, so he doubled down,” Breiner stated.

After the May 5 video surfaced, Lytvynchuk was assaulted by one other man. Breiner stated they know who he’s, however they won’t be urgent fees.

“He was beaten pretty badly. There were no broken bones, but yeah, he had welts all over his back, his head, shoulders,” Breiner stated.

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Other particulars about his shopper had been shared, with Breiner saying Ukraine native is a naturalized US citizen. He was ordered to give up his passport following a federal court appearance in Seattle Thursdayand is exploring the concept of ​​giving again by donating to wildlife safety efforts.

But how this can play out in court docket from right here on out stays to be seen.

“He’s going to pay the price. We’re not going into court and saying no, he didn’t do this, but there’s always an explanation,” Breiner stated.

Lytvnchuk is about to seem earlier than a choose in federal court docket right here in Honolulu on May 27.