KAILUA-KONA — A nearly six-hour standoff between a barricaded man and police ended peacefully Thursday afternoon.
The incident unfolded shortly before 9 a.m. when Hawaii Police Department officers responded to what was initially described as a ‘situation’ at a home off Ahulani Street in the Kona Coast View subdivision of North Kona. The home
Neighboring homes were immediately evacuated and the department’s Special Response Team was deployed to the scene between Kiekie and Hookumu streets.
The team arrived about an hour later at the tan-colored home situated on the Ka‘u side of Ahulani Street.
Little action occurred over the next several hours until SRT officers were heard yelling the man’s name and commanding him to exit the home. He surrendered peacefully shortly before 3 p.m. and was taken into police custody.
Police identified the man as 57-year-old Richard Gorloff.
The department said officers went to an Ahulani Street residence to attempt to make contact with Gorloff, who had threatened his ex-wife, Kelly Gorloff, earlier in the morning.
Upon contacting Gorloff, he refused to exit the residence and told officers that if they came any closer, he would blow up the residence, police said.
Officers observed the suspect to have a small propane tank and a 5-gallon gas can that was open and filled with an unknown liquid. The suspect also appeared to be carrying a propane torch that was unlit, and a flint striker used to light the torch.
Officers also reported smelling propane in the area.
Residents who were forced from their homes earlier in the day were subsequently allowed to return to the area and all roads reopened.