Police Bust Pohue Bay Party

Pohue Bay: PC: Alfred and Linda Spitzer.

Sixteen people have been cited for violating a statewide shelter-in-place order after Hawai‘i Island Police busted a party at Pohue Bay in Ocean View Friday.

A little after 2 p.m., a Ka’ū land manager reported there were approximately 10-15 parties trespassing at Pohue Bay, which is located approximately 2.5 miles south of the Ocean View Ranchos subdivision.

And they worked hard to do it.

According to HPD Assistant Chief Robert Wagner, the group made its way to the beach fronting the bay by way of an “old access road.” However, because of the completion of a newer access road located off Highway 11, the group’s way in was blocked off by a wooden barricade.

Past this barricade, Nani Kahuku ‘Aina LCC has erected three lava rock barricades (berms) along the roadway to prevent any vehicle and pedestrians from entering its property, Wagner continued. In addition, a No Trespassing sign is visibly posted at the third lava rock barricade.

“To access this area, trespassers had to drive around a wooden gate, dismantle two lava rock barricades, and parked vehicles fronting the third lava rock barricade,” Wagner wrote in an email to Big Island Now. “In addition to the area containing barricades clearly designed to present trespassing, the trespassers also disregarded a clearly posted No Trespassing sign.”

“Furthermore, all responsible parties were reported to have been congregating at Pohue Bay while laying/sitting on the beach and ingesting alcoholic beverages,” Wagner continued. “These ‘non-essential’ activities were witnessed and video recorded by a land manager.”

The 16 responsible parties were contacted by police and cited for Criminal Trespassing in the 2nd Degree as well as Prohibited Acts Emergency Management. Each has been issued a court date.

Those cited are identified by gender, age and place of residence as part of the following list:

• F-26 (Ocean View)
• M-44 (Kailua-Kona)
• M-31 (Captain Cook)
• M-45 (Na‘alehu)
• M-39 (Kea‘au)
• F-30 (Kailua-Kona)
• F-20 (Ocean View)
• F-33 (Captain Cook)
• F-39 (Pāhoa)
• M-47 (Pāhoa)
• M-31 (Kailua-Kona)
• F-32 (Kailua-Kona)
• M-38 (Hilo)
• M-32 (Kailua-Kona)
• M-35 (Ocean View)
• M-33 (California)

Police conducted checks and found the out-of-state man from California was not listed on the 14-day mandatory quarantine list.