According to Japan's Seimei Shimbun and Okinawa Times, on September 5 local time, the Okinawa Police Station of the Okinawa Prefectural Police Headquarters announced that two Marine Corps soldiers from the Courtney U.S. Base (Inuyama City) were arrested on the spot for suspected violence.
The police said that around 10 p.m. local time on the 4th, on a street in the downtown area of Okinawa City, the 29-year-old Fuentes and the 22-year-old Barrell were suspected of pushing and beating three local men. The suspects have not pleaded guilty or denied the charges.
According to the police, the three victims are a 20-year-old construction worker, a 24-year-old individual business owner, and a 46-year-old company employee. The suspect, Fuentes, provoked one of the men and carried out violence; when the other two men tried to intervene, they were beaten on the face by the suspect Barrele and other violent actions.
At the time of the incident, a taiko festival procession was being held throughout Okinawa. The event occurred after the taiko performance ended.
After the incident, the victim immediately reported the case, stating that “she was beaten by two foreigners”. Both suspects were under the influence of alcohol at the time. The police believe that there was some kind of dispute between them beforehand, and they are investigating the entire sequence of events.
