MEDIA RELEASE

One of two Puna men arrested in connection with shots being fired in a residential neighborhood has been charged with nine offenses.

Peter Lopes Jr., 45, of Hawaiian Beaches was charged at 3:15 p.m. Friday with first-degree reckless endangering, abuse of a family/household member, three counts of ownership prohibited, three counts of place to keep and leaving the scene of an accident. His bail was set at $123,000.

He is being held at the Hilo police cellblock pending his initial court appearance.

Officers conducted a search warrant on his home Thursday and recovered two firearms with ammunition. Because Lopes is a convicted felon, it is illegal for him to possess weapons or ammunition.

Police determined that Lopes assaulted a 42-year-old woman on Wednesday (Aug. 21) during a domestic argument in Hawaiian Paradise Park. After leaving the house, he collided with another vehicle, left the scene of the accident and then went to a home in Hawaiian Beaches, where he discharged a firearm.

The other man arrested after the shots were fired, 63-year-old Peter Lopes Sr., was released pending further investigation.