Puna man on felony probation charged with burglary, theft and attempted sex assault

A Puna man on felony probation is once again in custody and facing burglary, theft, criminal property damage charges as well as offenses of attempted sexual assault against a woman.

The charges against Brandon Blye, 38, of Kea‘au, stem from several different incidents dating back to late August 2023, up until Sunday morning, when he was arrested on 23rd Avenue in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision in Kea‘au, following a brief foot pursuit with Puna patrol officers.

As a result, Hawai‘i County Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen said three new felony cases were filed against the 38-year-old in District Court this week. He is set to appear for a preliminary in district court Thursday.

The latest charges stem from an incident on Sunday where Hawai‘i Police Department’s Puna patrol officers responded to a residence on 25th Avenue in the Kea‘au subdivision for a reported burglary in progress. The homeowner, who was not home at the time, called police to report observing a male on video surveillance attempting to break into his home and damaging the surveillance system.

As officers arrived on scene and began searching for the suspect, a male, later identified as Blye, was observed hiding in a storage shed. When officers approached, he ran away and into a heavily forested area.

Officers chased the suspect; however, due to the heavy vegetation and poor lighting conditions, they were not able to locate him. Upon officers reviewing the video surveillance, they were able to positively identify Blye as the suspect based on prior police contacts.

One of those prior contacts was an incident on Sept. 1 when Puna patrol officers responded to a reported burglary at a residence on 29th Avenue in Hawaii Paradise Park. The victim told police that the suspect had removed numerous items and damaged several doors within the residence, as well as tampered with video surveillance cameras.

The homeowner in this incident also provided officers with video surveillance, which ultimately led to Blye being identified as the suspect.

That same day, Puna patrol officers responded again to the Kea‘au subdivision, after a woman reported being assaulted at a residence on 24th Avenue. The victim reported to police that upon arriving to work at her client’s residence, she observed a male attempting to break into the home through the disabled elderly woman’s bedroom window.

As the victim approached the suspect, she reported that he grabbed her hair and forcibly slammed her head and face against the residence, causing pain and temporarily losing consciousness. He then dragged the victim to the ground, continued to strike her and attempted to sexually assault her. Blye was positively identified as the suspect in this case as well.

Blye was charged with the following offenses:

• Attempted first-degree burglary
• Fourth-degree criminal property damage
• Second-degree criminal tampering
• Third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug
• Third-degree promotion of a detrimental drug
• Drug paraphernalia
• First-degree burglary
• Second-degree theft
• Second-degree criminal property damage
• Second-degree robbery
• Attempted first-degree sexual assault
• Second-degree assault
• Three counts of habitual property crime

Blye’s bail was set at $197,000.

Additionally, Blye was arrested and charged with violating his probation.