An arson investigation has been initiated following a fire that was deliberately set Thursday morning at Big Island Drug Court in South Kona.
At 6:59 a.m. Thursday, Kona Patrol officers responded to a report of a fire at the courthouse on Halekii Street in Kealakekua. The case is being investigated as first-degree arson.
Arriving officers learned that passersby had extinguished the flames with fire extinguishers from the courthouse before police and firefighters arrived. Two employees were in the courthouse when the fire was set but no injuries were reported. Damage was confined to the front door and a wall, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
Investigation revealed that the fire was deliberately set by a “local male” wearing board shorts and a “hoodie,” police said. He fled in a pickup truck that appears to be primer gray with a black tailgate, black rims and a black front bumper grill.
Police also want to question the occupant or occupants of a sedan who may have seen the suspect.
Anyone with information about the fire, the identity of the suspect or the identity of the occupant or occupants of the sedan should call the department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311 or Detective Walter Ah Mow at 326-4646, ext. 238, or walter.ahmow@hawaiicounty.gov.
Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.