Police arrest two suspects in vicious East Anchorage beating

Rex Faumui, 18, and Patrick Tauanuu, 22, face second-degree assault charges in the attack on 45-year-old Quinn Hennessy in East Anchorage.

It's unclear what provoked the assault or if the victim and the suspects knew each other, said Lt. Dave Parker, a police spokesman.

"Our problem is our victim was so severely beaten, he could not give us an explanation as to why this started," Parker said.

Police received a report about 3 a.m. Sunday that the two men were punching and kicking Hennessy near 5700 Rocky Mountain Court, east of Boniface Parkway.

A woman who called 911 said she'd seen Faumui and Hennessy arguing in a nearby driveway, police said. The woman told police Faumui and Tauanuu were kicking Hennessy, who was down on the ground, motionless according to the charges.

Hennessy lay in the street in a pool of blood when officers arrived. He dipped in and out of consciousness and "it was difficult to recognize the distinguishing characteristics of Hennessy's face due to the severity of the injuries," the court papers say.

An officer saw Faumui walking away from the scene and tried to get his attention, but Faumui ignored him. When Faumui finally turned around, police say blood was on his face, hands and clothes, according to the complaint.

Tauanuu told police he'd seen Faumui, his cousin, in a fight with Hennessy and jumped in to help. But he said he only pushed Hennessy while the man was lying on the ground unconscious and that his cousin had been "drunk and out of control," according to the complaint.

Hennessy suffered severe head injuries and was taken to a local hospital. Doctors worried that his brain was bleeding, police said.

Parker said he did not know if Hennessy remained hospitalized Tuesday.

Police arrested Faumui and Tauanuu after multiple witnesses said they'd seen the men beating and kicking Hennessy, police said.

A judge set Faumui's bail at $25,000 cash only and Tauanuu's bail at $1,500 cash or corporate bond. Both were warned not to contact witnesses to the assault, police said.

But Sunday afternoon, after Tauanuu made bail, he drove back to the neighborhood where the assault had taken place, police said. Tauanuu saw one of the witnesses and started yelling at him, police said.

"The male witness said that Tauanuu had pointed at him out of his car window and shouted that he was 'coming for him and for his home too,' " Parker said in an email.

Police arrested Tauanuu once again, this time accusing him of witness tampering, Parker said. At his second arraignment Sunday, Tauanuu's bail was set at $25,000 cash and his original charge of fourth-degree assault was raised to second-degree assault, police said.

Police continue to investigate, he said.

The police spokesman called Faumui and Tauanuu "validated members of a criminal street gang" but could not say why exactly police believe the two men are gang affiliated.

Reach Casey Grove at casey.grove@adn.com or 257-4589.