An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment against a 23-year-old man accused of fatally beating his 64-year-old landlord during an eviction Sunday at an Ala Moana apartment.
The grand jury Friday indicted Kendall T. Gray for second- degree murder in the death of Alvin A. Matsumoto. A bench warrant issued by the grand jury ordered Gray to be held without bail. He is expected to appear at Circuit Court for his arraignment in the coming days.
The deadly beating occurred at a five-story apartment building at 620 Sheridan St. at about 3 p.m. Sunday.
According to the Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, Matsu- moto met Gray at the building expecting to pick up keys from Gray after obtaining a court order to evict him.
While in the building, Gray allegedly stabbed Matsumoto with a kitchen knife and stomped on his head and chest multiple times while he was on the ground.
A witness said he saw a man dragging the victim down concrete steps fronting the apartment building and placing him on top of a lava rock retaining wall before fleeing in a black sedan.
Honolulu police responded and found Matsumoto on the sidewalk “bleeding profusely” from his head and unresponsive. He was taken in critical condition to The Queen’s Medical Center where he later died.
Officers made arrangements to meet Gray on Hopaka Street, a short distance from the apartment building. Police arrested him at 7:40 p.m. on suspicion of murder.
An officer reviewed video surveillance footage that showed Matsumoto lying at the bottom of the stairway with a man standing over him.
The video then showed the man “stomp on Matsumoto’s head/chest area multiple times while he laid motionless” within the stairwell, police said in court documents.
Matsumoto texted a witness Sunday that he was going to evict Gray from Unit 206.
In a news release Friday, Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm said, “Cooperation from witnesses and good work by Honolulu police led to the quick arrest.”
“This brutal attack on a senior citizen warrants a strong response. We intend to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” Alm added.
Gray had served in the Army from July 2017 to February as a cavalry scout, according to the U.S. Army Human Resources Command based in Fort Knox, Ky.
He deployed to Germany from December 2017 to December 2019. Within that period Gray also served a three-month deployment in Turkey from March to June 2018.
Gray received several military awards that include the Army Commendation Medal and Global War on Terrorism Medal.
Kendall Gray indictment by Honolulu Star-Advertiser
