UPDATE #2: Manhunt continues for attempted murder suspect; second person in stolen car killed by police

Updated at 3:45 p.m. on March 10: On Friday morning, a man was killed by police in Kona in an incident related to the ongoing manhunt for an attempted murder suspect in Hāmākua District on the Big Island.

On Friday morning, plainclothes vice detectives received information that the attempted murder suspect Ronald Patrick Keahonui Kahihikolo was in the Kona area, and in the company of several individuals who were in possession of two stolen vehicles, a silver Chevy Malibu and a white Dodge sedan.

As vice detectives began canvassing the area, officers observed the Chevy Malibu traveling southbound on Kamakaeha Avenue. As the Malibu came to a stop at the intersection of Kamakaeha Avenue and Palani Road, detectives attempted to contact the vehicle’s occupants.

According to a Hawaiʻi Island police press release, the male driver ignored the officers’ lawful commands to show them his hands and began reaching for an object. Fearing for their safety, two detectives discharged their duty weapons, striking the driver.

The driver next drove the vehicle across all lanes of Palani Road and down an embankment before coming to a stop. Detectives followed the vehicle down the embankment.

When detectives arrived at the vehicle , they immediately started life-saving measures. The driver died at the scene. Investigators later recovered multiple firearms from within the vehicle, police said.

The identity of the driver is being withheld, pending notification of his family.

A passenger in the vehicle, 26-year-old Jacqueline Keanaaina of Kailua-Kona, 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.

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

As these events were unfolding, the white Dodge sedan believed to be driven by attempted murder suspect Kahihikolo was seen traveling northbound towards Waimea.

Police pursued Kahihikolo through the Waimea area and he exited Highway 19 near the 40-mile marker, in lower Kalopa in Hāmākua. Kahihikolo was last seen on foot wearing a plaid shirt and jeans in the area of Highway 19 near the 40 mile marker in a secluded area near a gulch.

He is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall, 215 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes and has a distinctive tattoo on his right cheek near his eye that reads “greed”. 

He is considered armed and dangerous. He is the suspect in the attempted murder of a 42-year-old woman on March 7. Ka‘ū patrol officers responded to a report of the woman being 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 and was taken to the Kona Community Hospital for treatment, where she remains in stable condition.

Detectives identified the suspect in that case as 44-year-old Ronald Patrick Keahonui Kahihikolo, of Ocean View, and a media release was issued on that day requesting the public’s assistance in locating him. Kahihikolo also is wanted for outstanding bench warrants.

Please avoid the lower Kalopa area in Hāmākua while police search for him and report any suspicious activity in the area by calling 911.

In regards to the officers-involved shooting, the Office of Professional Standards has initiated an internal administrative investigation. The involved detectives are 25-year and 13-year veterans and will be placed on administrative leave pending an internal review of this incident.

This investigation remains continuing and updates will be provided as they become available.

Police ask anyone with information on this incident to contact the police department’s non-emergency number at 808-935-3311 or Area II Criminal Investigation Section Detective Jason Foxworthy, via email at Jason.Foxworthy@hawaiicounty.gov or at 808-326-4646 ext. 281.
 
Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at 808-961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Original Post: The Hawaiʻi Police Department is currently searching for Ronald Kahihikolo, a suspect in an attempted murder case. He was last seen shortly before noon on Friday in the area of Highway 19 near the 40 mile marker in the lower Kalopa area of Hāmākua District. 

He is considered armed and dangerous, police said.

Kahihikolo was last seen wearing a plaid shirt and jeans.  He is 5 feet, 7 inches and 215 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He has a distinctive tattoo on his right cheek near his eye that reads “greed”. 

Please avoid the area while police search for him.

But if you see him, police caution not to approach Kahihikolo and immediately call 911.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at 808-961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

This is an unfolding and ongoing investigation and more information will be released as it becomes available, police said.

Editorʻs Note: This story was updated with identification of the suspect police are searching for.