Hawai‘i Island police arrested and charged 21-year-old Ariitea Lucas-Waters of Pāhoa with firearm and drug offenses following a Hilo parking lot shooting incident.
On December 9, Hilo patrol officers responded to a report of multiple gunshots at a parking lot commonly referred to as “Isles” off of Lihiwai Street, near Lili‘uokalani Gardens in Hilo. Responding officers identified Lucas-Water, who witnesses reported seeing discharge a semi-automatic pistol over a large crowd of people after two other males were involved in a verbal altercation. After discharging the firearm, Lucas-Waters was observed fleeing the scene driving a silver Toyota Tacoma, which was also occupied by another man and a woman. Conducting extensive checks in Hilo, officers located Lucas-Waters driving the truck on Haihai Street and conducted a traffic stop. Upon contacting Lucas-Waters and his two passengers, 18-year-old Kahiau Reilly of Kealakekua and 18-year-old Kawehileimaileokalani Tam-Porter of Pāhoa, all three were arrested for reckless endangering and transported to the East Hawai’i Detention Facility where they were booked, processed, and held for continued investigation. The pickup truck was recovered and towed to the Hilo Police Station pending the execution of a search warrant. Later that day, detectives with the Area I Criminal Investigation Section executed a search warrant on the vehicle, resulting in the recovery of a loaded functioning semi-automatic pistol with no serial number also known as a “ghost gun”, live ammunition, spent ammunition casings, eight grams of cocaine, small unused zip-type packets, a digital scale, and more than $850 in U.S. currency. After conferring with the County Prosecutor’s Office, Area I Criminal Investigation Section detectives released Reilly and Tam-Porter pending additional investigation and charged Lucas-Waters with the following offenses:
- First-degree reckless endangering
- Carrying or possessing a loaded firearm: public highways
- Place to keep: pistols or revolvers
- (2 counts) Place to keep: ammunition
- Manufacturing, purchasing, or obtaining firearm parts to assemble a firearm having no serial number
- Place to keep: loaded firearm not pistols/revolvers
- Possession of firearm in commission of felony drug offense
- Third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug
- Second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug
Total bail for Lucas-Waters was set at $157,000. On Monday, he made his initial appearance in South Hilo District Court. Police ask anyone who may have information regarding this incident to contact Detective Kimo Keliipaakaua of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 961-2375, or via email at kimo.keliipaakaua@hawaiicounty.gov.
HPD Photo