Attempted murder suspect faces litany of charges following five-day manhunt

This story was updated at 10:13 p.m. Saturday, March 11.

A man who eluded police until Saturday after allegedly shooting his domestic partner in the head at pointblank range with a modified shotgun Tuesday morning in Ocean View on the Big Island and is wanted on numerous outstanding bench warrants now faces a litany of charges.

The Hawai‘i Police Department says 44-year old Ronald Kahihikolo of Ocean View was arrested just before 11 a.m. Saturday near the 39.5-mile marker on Highway 19 in Hāmākua, north of Hilo, after a five-day manhunt.

After conferring with the Hawai‘i County prosecutor’s office, Kahihikolo was charged with:

• Second-degree attempted murder.
• Abuse of a family/household member.
• Ownership/possession of a firearm prohibited.
• Carrying a firearm in the commission of a separate felony.
• Unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle
• First-degree theft.
• Resisting an order to stop.
• Contempt of court.
• Two counts of violations of conditions of release on bail, recognizance or supervised release.
• Two counts of discharge of sureties.

Kahihikolo’s bail was set at $263,000. He remains in police custody awaiting his initial court appearance scheduled for Monday morning in Hilo District Court.

Shortly after 7 a.m. Tuesday, Ka‘ū patrol officers responded to a report of a 42-year-old woman who was shot during a domestic dispute in the 92-2000 block of Outrigger Drive in Ocean View. The woman sought medical attention for the gunshot wound at the Ocean View Fire Station. She was transported to Kona Community Hospital, where she was in stable condition.

On Friday morning, plainclothes Area II Vice detectives received information that Kahihikolo was in the Kona area and in the company of individuals who were in possession of two stolen vehicles, a silver Chevy Malibu and a white Dodge sedan, and were getting gas. As the detectives canvassed the area, they spotted the Malibu as it was traveling southbound on Kamakaeha Avenue.

As the Malibu came to a stop at the intersection of Kamakaeha Avenue and Palani Road, the detectives attempted to contact the vehicle’s driver, identified Saturday as 32-year-old Kainoa Kahele-Bishop of Kailua-Kona, and a passenger, 26-year-old Jacqueline Keana‘aina of Kailua-Kona, Kahele-Bishop ignored commands to show police his hands and began reaching for an object.

Fearing for their safety, two detectives discharged their duty weapons.

Kahele-Bishop then drove the vehicle across all lanes of Palani Road and about 10 feet down an embankment before coming to a stop. The detectives ran toward the car, and seeing Kahele-Bishop was injured, immediately began administering life-saving measures. Kahele-Bishop unfortunately died at the scene.

After executing a search warrant on the Malibu, detectives from the Area II Criminal Investigation Section recovered two firearms — a loaded sawed-off shotgun and an unloaded bolt-action rifle — more than 25 rounds of ammunition, one spent round of ammunition and eight credit cards that did not belong to either of the vehicle’s occupants.

A police detective also sustained minor injuries and was provided with first aid at the scene.

Keana‘aina suffered minor injuries in the traffic crash and was treated at the scene by Hawaiʻi Fire Department medics. She was then arrested for an outstanding warrant and transported to the Kealakehe Police Station.

After conferring with the County prosecutor’s office, Keana‘aina also was charged with a slew of offenses:

• First-degree resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle.
• Unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle.
• Two counts of ownership/possession of a firearm prohibited.
• Ownership/possession of ammunition prohibited.
• Place to keep loaded firearms other than pistols and revolvers.
• Place to keep unloaded firearms other than pistols and revolvers.
• Carrying a firearm in the commission of a separate felony.
• Carrying or possessing a loaded firearm on a public highway.
• Eight counts of unauthorized possession of confidential personal information.
• Revocation of probation.
• Discharge of sureties.

Keana‘aina was also charged with first-degree attempted burglary stemming from an attempted residential break-in Feb. 26 on Tiki Lane in Ocean View.

Kahele-Bishop was a person of interest in that investigation and had an outstanding parole violation with the Hawai‘i Paroling Authority. He was also a person of interest in an attempted burglary Feb. 26 in the 92-8000 block of Tiki Lane in Ocean View.

As the shooting incident was occurring, the white Dodge sedan, thought to be driven by Kahihikolo, was seen traveling north toward Waimea. Kahihikolo abandoned the vehicle less than two hours later in the area near the 40-mile marker of Highway 19 in Hāmākua.

Following the extensive five-day multi-agency manhunt for Kahihikolo by land and air that included the Police Department’s Special Response Team and K9 scent-detection dogs and air assets from Hawaiʻi Fire Department, as well as assistance from FBI personnel, he was arrested Saturday in the same vicinity where he abandoned the Dodge sedan.

Investigators with Area II Juvenile Aid Section and Area I Criminal Investigation Section subsequently executed a search warrant on the recovered stolen Dodge.

Detectives from the Area II Criminal Investigation Section are continuing the investigation into the officer-involved-shooting. The Office of Professional Standards initiated an internal administrative investigation.

The detectives involved are 25-year and 13-year veterans, respectively, of the department and were placed on administrative leave pending an internal review of this incident.