2 U.S. Servicemen Arrested in Okinawa for Assault

   Naha, Okinawa Pref., July 7 (Jiji Press)--Two U.S. servicemen have been arrested in the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa over the weekend for allegedly assaulting Japanese nationals.
   The Okinawa prefectural police on Saturday arrested Tomas Salazar, a 25-year-old airman who belongs to the U.S. Air Force's Kadena base in the prefecture, on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend at a parking lot in the city of Okinawa.
   He allegedly knocked down the woman in her 20s and punched her in the face several times around 3:30 a.m. Saturday, causing an injury to her mouth. Salazar has denied the allegations, saying that he did not beat his girlfriend.
   Gabriel Monize, a 21-year-old private 1st class who belongs to the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Hansen in Okinawa, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of slightly injuring an unacquainted Japanese man, 40, by putting his hands around the latter's neck in the victim's car on a street in the city of Okinawa around 12:10 a.m. the same day.
   According to the Okinawa police, the Japanese man was in his parked car when Monize suddenly entered the vehicle and assaulted him from behind. Monize has denied the allegations while refusing to take an alcohol test.

(2025/07/07-09:42)

To read a full story, please click here to find out how to subscribe.