Keaʻau man orders several charges, arrest in drive-thru after allegedly threatening to kill acquaintance

What’s the first thing you do after allegedly brandishing a handgun and threatening to kill an acquaintance during a violent confrontation at about 1 a.m.?

A 40-year-old Keaʻau man ordered several weapon, drug and other charges and being arrested in the nearest drive-thru earlier this week at a downtown Hilo fast food restaurant.

Hawaiʻi Police Department reports that John Juan-Malak Taliauli was charged May 12 with:

• First-degree terroristic threatening.
• Driving without a valid license.
• Place to keep: pistols or revolvers.
• Place to keep: ammunition.
• Carrying or possessing a loaded firearm on public highway.
• Third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug (fentanyl).
• Second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug (methamphetamine).
• Prohibited acts related to drug paraphernalia.

Taliauli’s bail was set at $196,000. He remains in custody following his initial court appearance the afternoon of May 13 in Hilo District Court.

Court records show his bail was maintained. The case was continued, and Taliauli was ordered to return at 2 p.m. May 15 for a preliminary hearing.

The charges stem from a reported violent confrontation at about 1 a.m. that Taliauli had with an acquaintance in the early morning hours of May 12 at a location in the 500 block of Wainaku Street in Hilo, during which he was allegedly makign threats while in possession of a handgun.

Responding Hilo Patrol officers contacted Taliauli’s acquaintance, a 30-year-old man, who reported Taliauli had brandished a handgun from his waistband and threatened to kill him before fleeing the area in a vehicle.

Additional responding officers located the vehicle traveling on Kinoʻole Street, pulling into the drive-thru of a restaurant in downtown Hilo.

Taliauli was told he was under arrest when officers initially contacted him, but he disregarded their verbal commands. Officers negotiated with the 40-year-old for nearly an hour until he complied and was taken into custody without incident.

Police did not name the restaurant in their report, but it was likely the downtown Hilo McDonald’s.

A short video shared with Big Island Now by a Hilo community member who was driving along Kinoʻole Street and attempting to visit the store at about 2 a.m. May 12, showed a large police presence in the location’s drive-thru and parking lot

The vehicle Taliauli was driving was seized as evidence at the time of his arrest, pending issusance of a search warrant.

Officers with Hawaiʻi Police Department’s Area I Crime Reduction Unit executed a search warrant on Taliauli’s vehicle the afternoon of May 12. During the search, they seized a loaded pistol, various types of illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia.

Police thank the public and restaurant employees for their patience during the incident and apologize for the inconvenience, as the drive-thru was closed for more than an hour.

Anyone who might have witnessed this incident is asked to contact Officer Manuel Soares with Hawai’i Police Department’s Area I Crime Reduction Unit at 808-961-8222 or via email at manuel.soares@hawaiicounty.gov.