MEDIA RELEASE

Hawaiʻi Island police are asking for the public’s help in identifying two men wanted for a theft in Puna last week.

On January 29 at about 11:40 p.m., police received a call from a 60-year-old homeowner reporting two suspicious vehicles and at least four male suspects who were on his property in Mountain View and allegedly stealing cut pieces of koʻa wood.

The victim initially thought a relative was on the property and approached the vehicles and the subjects, discovering that the suspects had loaded their trucks with the wood. After confronting two of the men, the victim managed to recover several pieces of his wood. While he was calling police, both trucks fled the area. The victim reported that he heard gunshots coming from the direction of the vehicles at a distance away. He discovered that a chain preventing access to his property had been cut. The victim was not injured in the encounter.

One truck was described as a yellow full-size truck and the other as a red-and-white full-size truck. Neither vehicle displayed any license plates.

One suspect—the passenger in the red-and-white truck—was described as a local male in his 30’s, about 5-foot-10 to 6-feet tall, about 200 pounds with a muscular build, short black hair, and possible tattoos on his neck. He was wearing a light-colored short-sleeved T-shirt.

Another suspect—the driver of the red-and-white truck—was described as in his 30’s, local, about 5-foot-8 to 5-foot-10 with a lighter complexion (compared with the muscular man) with short black hair. He was not wearing a shirt.

Although the victim did not get a good look at the two remaining suspects, he could recall that one of them was taller than the others and the other was about the same height as the first two.

Detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigations Section are continuing the investigation, which is classified as a second-degree theft, first-degree reckless endangering, fourth-degree criminal property damage and first-degree criminal trespass.

Police ask anyone with information on this incident or may know the identities of the suspects to contact Detective Clarence Davies of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at 961-2384 or cdavies@co.hawaii.hi.us.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.