Pahoa man arrested in connection with wheelchair assault

A man has been arrested on charges of attacking a man in a wheelchair last week in Pahoa.

Christopher Mohrlang, 35, of Pahoa, turned himself in to police this morning at the Pahoa police station.

On June 7, he allegedly attacked John Hartley, 57, who lives in the Pahoa area without a permanent residence.

Hartley said he was dozing in front of the Pahoa Village Museum with his dog, Bonnie, at his feet.

The attacker threw a bucket of ice-filled water in his face, blasted him twice with mace and then punched him in the head before fleeing, Hartley said.

“Believe me, that hurt,” Hartley told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald. “That was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life, and I’ve broken every bone there is to break.”

Mohrlang was charged with two charges of third-degree assault and released on $1,000 bond.