Big Island police are following up on a handful of leads the public has provided in the wake of two violent home invasions this month in the Kona Palisades area.
Hawaii Police Department Criminal Investigations Section Area II Lt. Gerald Wike said Tuesday that three detectives have now been assigned to the case and are actively following up on about a half dozen leads residents in the vicinity of Kaiminani Drive have provided since the reported incidents on Nov. 2 and 12.
“We’ve received a handful of calls about suspicious people or vehicles in the neighborhood,” Wike said. “And, we encourage the public to continue to report any suspicious activity in the neighborhood — be it people or vehicles that are seen.”
On the case are detectives Walter Ah Mow, Sean Smith and Roylen Valera, whom Wike said have contacted every person who has provided information and are working to identify the person or persons responsible for the two home invasions. The department’s Kona Patrol division is also continuing increased patrols in the area, he added.
During the incidents, an unknown masked man brandishing a handgun entered two Hiolani Street homes and demanded cash and other items from the residents inside. Both incidents occurred during the early evening and no one was injured.
The first home invasion occurred around 7:35 p.m. when an unknown man barged into a home on the street and pointed a handgun at the 72-year-old man inside and demanded cash. The second incident occurred around 8:10 p.m. when two women, ages 69 and 72, said they heard a noise in the living room of their home and found a man who pointed a handgun at them and demanded cash and telephones. In both cases, the man fled with an undisclosed amount of cash and phones.
The first victim was unable to provide a description of the man because he was dressed from head-to-toe in dark clothing and was wearing dark gloves and his head and face were covered. The two women described him as being of Caucasian descent, between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 7 inches tall, and having a thin build. He was wearing black clothing, including a black sweatshirt with an orange design on the front, and was carrying a black backpack with white lettering on the right strap.
Following the invasions, the department, in addition to asking area residents to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity, is encouraging homeowners in the Kona Palisades area, which extends the length of Kaiminani Drive, to get involved in or start their own Neighborhood Watch program. While the Kona Palisades Estates Association has a Neighborhood Watch program already in effect, Wike encouraged others in the large subdivision to establish additional watches.
The department is also encouraging bordering subdivisions, such as Kona Acres and Kona Coastview, among others, to start Neighborhood Watch programs, as well.
Neighborhood Watch is a national program designed to involve the public in crime prevention by having them become the eyes and ears of law enforcement by keeping watch and reporting suspicious activity in their neighborhood, Wike said, referring to national program information. Anyone can become a member or start a Neighborhood Watch program, he said.
“What it does is it gets people in the community to become familiar with who their neighbors really are,” Wike said. “It’s really going back to the old style of actually knowing who lives on the street and knowing them by their first name.”
The department’s Community Policing section serves as a liaison between the individual Neighborhood Watch programs. For more information on starting or getting involved in a Neighborhood Watch program in the area, call Community Policing Officer William Vickery at 326-4646, ext. 257, or email him at wvickery@co.hawaii.hi.us.
Anyone with information on the home invasions is urged to call the department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311 or contact Ah Mow at 326-4646, ext. 238, Smith at 326-4646, ext. 262, or Valera at 326-4646, ext. 224. The detectives can also be reached via email to wahmow@co.hawaii.hi.us, ssmith.co.hawaii.hi.us or rvalera@co.hawaii.hi.us.
Those 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 does not record calls or subscribe to caller ID and all information is kept confidential.