66-year-old Man Charged With Murder in Reported Captain Cook Shooting

James Bonham

A 66-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder following the death of a Captain Cook man.

The charge stems from an incident that occurred on April 28. According to Hawai‘i Police Department, Kona patrol officers responded to a report of shooting at approximately 9 p.m. on the 83-5000 block of Middle Ke‘ei Road in Captain Cook. When officers arrived on scene, they found a 45-year-old man had suffered from an apparent gunshot wound.

The victim was later pronounced dead at Kona Community Hospital. The man’s identity is being withheld at this time pending positive identification and notification of next-of-kin.

The suspect, James Bonham, was arrested at the scene on a charge of second-degree murder. After conferring with the prosecutor’s office on April 30, Bonham was officially charged. He is being held on $50,000 bail and is set to have an initial appearance today at the Kona District Court.

An autopsy has been scheduled for today to determine the victim’s official cause of death. Anyone who may have information about this incident is asked to call the Police Department’s non-emergency line at 808-935-3311 or Detective Aron Tomota at 808-326-4646 ext.262 or aron.tomota@hawaiicounty.gov.