POCATELLO — A 41-year-old local man was arrested last week after police say he struck his son with a belt, drawing blood, because the boy took too long to answer a question. He was also found to be illegally in possession of a gun as a convicted felon.

Shayne Kupihea, of Pocatello, has been charged with injury to a child and unlawful possession of a firearm, both felonies, according to police and court records the Idaho State Journal recently obtained.

The incident began to unfold after Pocatello police were dispatched to a local home on Jan. 28 to conduct a welfare check on the 12-year-old boy. Upon arrival officers interviewed the boy and photographed his visible injuries, police said.

According to court records, the boy told police that Kupihea had struck him on the upper right leg with a brown leather belt on Jan. 27 because he took too long to answer a question about household chores. The boy said Kupihea held the buckle and swung the strap, causing an injury that bled into his clothing, police said.

The boy also disclosed a separate incident from approximately one month earlier in which Kupihea struck him on the back with the same belt, also causing bleeding, court records show.

Officers observed and photographed a red, welt-like injury with broken skin on the boy’s upper right leg. The mark was consistent with the shape of a tapered belt strap, police said. Officers also observed and photographed a scar on the middle of the boy’s back, which the boy said had resulted from the prior incident, according to police.

Kupihea initially denied using a belt but later admitted to officers that he had struck the boy with a belt the previous day as discipline for failing to wash dishes, according to court records. He also admitted to using a belt on the boy in the past, police said.

Officers arrested Kupihea at approximately 6:45 p.m. on the felony injury to a child charge and following a search of his person seized a brown leather belt with a tapered end.

Officers performed a physical comparison by holding the seized belt next to the injury on the boy’s leg and determined the tapered end of the belt was consistent with the shape and size of the injury, court records show.

Following the arrest, officers obtained a search warrant for Kupihea’s residence to search for bloody clothing but while searching, the boy disclosed that there was a firearm inside the home, stating the gun was located in a green bag in the bedroom and describing it as a “gray Glock,” according to court records.

Officers had prior knowledge from a previous investigation in which Kupihea admitted he could not own guns because he was a prohibited person. A criminal history check confirmed Kupihea has felony convictions in the state of Hawaii for terroristic threatening and assault on a police officer, court records show.

Officers determined these Hawaii statutes are substantially conforming to Idaho felonies, including aggravated assault and assault upon certain personnel, police said.

Based on this information, officers located a green floral-patterned backpack on the bed in Kupihea’s bedroom and found a Taurus handgun and a box of ammunition inside a lockbox, according to court records.

Kupihea was subsequently charged, arrested and transported to the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello..

Kupihea appeared before 6th District Magistrate Judge Scott E. Axline for an arraignment hearing on Thursday where he was ordered to be released on his own recognizance.

He is scheduled to appear in court again on Feb. 9 for a preliminary hearing. Prosecutors will attempt to present sufficient evidence to elevate the case from magistrate to district court for trial.

If convicted of both felony charges filed against him, Kupihea faces no less than one year and up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $55,000.