Arrests made in teen’s murder at Mākaha Beach Park

HONOLULU (KHON2) — On Sunday, May 21, a 17-year-old was murdered at Mākaha Beach Park.

The Honolulu Police Department reported in the arrest report that a suspect was arguing with the victim prior to the shooting that left the 17-year-old dead.

Police were given a description of the suspect as a local male between the ages of 15 and 17 and approximately 5’4″ to 5’6″ tall.

Police also reported the suspect was accompanied by an alleged accomplice who was also identified as a local male; both were believed to have fled the scene together in a white vehicle.

This led HPD to begin their search, the report indicates.

At 5 a.m. on Sunday, HPD reported that a vehicle was reported to have been set on fire near the end of Waiʻanae Valley Road. HPD determined that the vehicle that had been set ablaze was in fact the vehicle that had been reported to have fled the scene of the murder.

Police were able to obtain a search warrant for the vehicle, towing it back to the main police station, according to the report.

This led to the positive identification of a juvenile male believed to be the suspect. At approximately 6:15 p.m., police reported that the District 8 CRU was able to locate and arrest the suspect in the Liliha area.

According to the report, the suspect was arrested for murder in the second-degree and firearms offenses.

The report indicated that on Monday, May 22, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney had accepted the charges against the suspect. It also indicated that the suspect was charged with the offenses along with use of a firearm in commission of a separate felony and place to keep.

The police report showed that petitions were filed with Family Court for the juvenile male suspect at 11:15 p.m.

The report showed that there was more to the situation.

According to the report, the investigation found that at the time of the incident, a 16-year-old juvenile female suspect drove the 16-year-old male suspect to and from the scene of the murder. The report also indicated that there were two adults, a female and a male, in the vehicle at the time of the murder.

The report shows that at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Monday, the adult female was arrested for hindering prosecution in the first degree and is still in custody.

A bit later, according to the report, at around 5:15 p.m., the 16-year-old juvenile female driver was arrested for hindering prosecution in the first degree; however, she was released at 9:55 p.m. pending further investigation.

The report shows that as the investigation progressed, police discovered that the 17-year-old victim had also been shot by a second suspect who was the one responsible for burning the vehicle that aided the suspect’s escape.

The second shooting suspect was identified as a 20-year-old male on Tuesday, May 23, according to the report. This led District 8 CRU to locate and arrest the second male suspect at 8:15 p.m. in the Waiʻanae area. He was arrested for murder in the second degree, arson in the first degree and firearms offenses.

The report shows that the second male suspect was charged on Thursday, May 25 after conferring with the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney. He was charged with murder in the second degree, use of a firearm in commission of a separate felony, place to keep, kidnapping and arson. His bail was set at $2 million aggregate, according to the report.