HILO — A 65-year-old Pahoa man has been indicted by a Hilo grand jury for an armed standoff last month in Puna during which a police officer was shot.
The seven-count indictment returned Wednesday charges Albert Huihui Puu with attempted first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, first-degree reckless endangering, possessing a firearm without a permit or registration, possessing a prohibited pistol magazine and harassment.
Puu is accused of holding off police in Hawaiian Beaches subdivision for more than 8.5 hours late Feb. 21 and early Feb. 22.
Police responded at 10:22 p.m. Feb. 21 to a reported assault on Oio Street. As officers approached Puu’s home, he allegedly fired a single gunshot at police, striking two-year veteran Puna patrol officer Roger Carvalho in the thigh. Carvalho has since been released from the hospital.
None of the officers returned fire, police said, and Puu allegedly fled deeper onto his property.
After executing a search warrant, the police Special Response Team found Puu Feb. 22 in a shed behind his Oio Street home with a Glock 21 .45 caliber handgun close at hand. Puu was then arrested without further incident.
The reported assault was an altercation with his neighbor preceding the standoff, according to court documents.
Puu’s neighbor requested Puu, who was allegedly intoxicated, lower the volume of his music and stop shouting profanities at her.
Hearing this, Puu reportedly reached over the fence that separates their two properties, seized the neighbor’s phone from her hand, threw it to the ground, saying, “I’m going to beat the (expletive) out of you.”
The neighbor called police immediately afterward. Puu’s harassment charge stems from this incident.
Puu was scheduled for a preliminary hearing March 29 in Hilo District Court. The indictment, however, makes the hearing to establish probable cause hearing unnecessary, and Puu will instead be arraigned in Hilo Circuit Court after he is re-arrested for the indictment.
He remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of $515,500 bail.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
Got his Glock from one of the local gun dealers, bought through another person. Who happened to have it ‘stolen’ or ‘lost it’. That’s how it is done here.
No doubt about that…any which way you can goes, out here in the Puna frightful neighborhoods. Paradise… it is NOT. This sick creep thought he was above the law – clearly he is NOT and hope they throw away the key… He could have murdered anyone at any time with an illegal gun! And, now let the law prevail on ALL seven counts. THANK YOU GRAND JURY FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING!!!!
Lots of guessing what this old coot was thinking. It is not said anywhere how he came to have the pistol.
good, as long as a judge does not set low bail or his socialist lawyer does not get him released,prison for life I say..or just execute him,he is useless and worthless and a cop shooter
Could not agree more. Bail should be a million, not half a million! This worthless rogue is looking at 7 counts. 3 of them are Class A Felonies – with lower Felony counts down the line. Thank you to the Grand Jury – they found probable cause saving the county costs of a hearing – and he stays behind bars. Now straight to trial. No bail discussion at all until then, thank God. So, this rogue will be held until then – there’s no beer in jail! Suffering is due this piece of crap rogue.
Execution is a huge waste of money and resources. Life w/o parole would be much quicker in this case. We need to build a mega prison that has a Super Max like the Federal Prison in Florence Colorado.
Suggest: E-Kokua to look at the counts against this rogue