Police: Two arrested in ongoing investigation of incident that involved shooting at an officer

Two people from West Hawai‘i have been arrested in connection with an incident Thursday evening in Kona that involved an armed robbery, a traffic collision and a suspect shooting at an officer.

Big Island police arrested 27-year-old Dyllan Paulo-Leslie of Kailua-Kona for first-degree attempted murder, robbery and reckless endangering and 34-year-old Brittany Johnson of Holualoa for robbery in the same incident.

At 8 p.m. Thursday, Kona patrol officers responded to a report of an active armed robbery at a business in the 73-5000 block of Kauhola Street in the Kaloko Light Industrial Park in Kailua-Kona. The suspect, described as a man armed with a firearm wearing dark clothing and a face covering, entered the establishment and brandished the firearm. He removed an undisclosed amount of money from the service counter area as patrons and employees fled the area.

The man then fled the scene in a gray lifted pick-up truck with a female passenger. A responding patrol unit saw a vehicle matching the description leaving the area and proceeded to turn around to investigate further. Prior to contacting the vehicle, it was involved in a traffic collision with another vehicle at the intersection of Highway 190 and Hina Lani Street, rendering both vehicles inoperable.

Arriving at the crash scene, an officer was walking toward the vehicles to check on the occupants when he was shot at by the male suspect, according to police reports. The bullet narrowly missed the officer and struck the rear driver’s side tire of the patrol vehicle. As the officer called in for help, the suspect and his female passenger fled the area on foot.

Responding patrol units located the pair a short time later and they were taken into custody without further incident.

The officer was uninjured and did not fire his service pistol during the incident.

The driver of the other vehicle, a 51-year-old female from Kailua-Kona, did not require medical attention at the scene.

Hawai‘i Police Department’s Area II Criminal Investigation Section is continuing to investigation.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Police Department’s nonemergency number at 808-935-3311 or contact Detective Sheldon Nakamoto with the Area II Criminal Investigation Section at 808-326-4646, extension 228, or via email at [email protected].

Those who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300.