32 year-old Nainoa Kaluhiwa of Puna was arrested and charged for possession of a loaded, “sawed-off” 12 gauge shotgun and a rifle of unknown make and model after police contacted him while seated within a vehicle parked in the Bayfront Soccer Fields lot in Hilo. Officers later obtained a search warrant before recovering both firearms and ammunition from within the vehicle.

Yesterday afternoon, Kaluhiwa made his initial Hilo District Court appearance where his bail was maintained at $79,000.00 and he was ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing on March 7, 2024.

As the Complaint alleges, Kaluhiwa was charged with Ownership Prohibited, Carrying or Possessing a Loaded Firearm on a Public Highway, Place to Keep Loaded Firearms Other Than Pistols and Revolvers, Place to Keep Unloaded Firearms Other Than Pistols and Revolvers, Place to Keep Ammunition, and two counts of Registration Mandatory. Carrying or Possessing a Loaded Firearm on a Public Highway and Place to Keep Loaded Firearms are both class B felony offenses punishable by either a ten-year prison term or four years probation and up to eighteen months in jail. Ownership Prohibited is a class C felony offense punishable by a five-year prison term.

The case was initiated by Officers Andrew Springer and Alexis Amon-Wilkins of the Hawaiʻi County Police Department’s South Hilo Patrol, while the felony investigation was led by Detective Kelsey Kobayashi and assisted by Detective Jenny Lee of HPD’s Area I Juvenile Aid Section.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ha‘aheo Kaho‘ohalahala.

The charges are merely allegations, and the Defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty

 

Photo credit: Hawaiʻi County Prosecuting Attorney