KAHULUI (HawaiiNewsNow) - Maui police have arrested a suspect that was barricaded inside a Kahului home for more than 50 hours.
Police arrested Josiah Okudara at 3:07 p.m. Friday afternoon. MPD says Okudara was taken into custody when voluntarily he walked out of the house.
The County of Maui released a news statement late Friday afternoon thanking the Maui Police Department for their patience and determination in ending the stand-off situation peacefully.
"Chief Yabuta and his men are to be commended," said Mayor Alan Arakawa. "Their actions kept our residents safe and managed to end this without injury to their officers or to the suspect. I'd also like to thank the Red Cross for taking care of those displaced during this event and our residents for their patience. This was a bad situation that could have ended much worse had the community not kept their cool."
The dramatic standoff began Wednesday at about 1 p.m. when detectives received information that fugitive Okudara may be inside the home located on Opukea Street.
A man who was inside the home with Okudara peacefully surrendered to authorities Thursday afternoon after police shot tear gas into the house.
Two women and a young child voluntarily came out of the home earlier in the day.
Police reported hearing gunshots several times during the standoff.
"The home that we're in, which we just moved in three to four days ago, is about three to four houses down from where everything was happening," said Kahului resident Fred Kuhia.
Kuhia was at work when he heard about the barricade situation. He waited nearly 10 hours to pick up his two youngest children who were locked down in his home with his roommates.
"Every phone call that came in was super intense. We didn't know if there was problems with my son or just an update on what was going on," said Kuhia.
Kuhia and his family ended up spending the night in a Red Cross shelter.
"People are concerned, but at least they're in a safe place. They received breakfast. We have lunch ordered," said shelter manager Marty Adler.
Red Cross volunteers helped 30 people being kept away from their homes. They served 83 meals, crisis counseling services and provided canteen services for Emergency Responders at the scene.
Okudara is a person of interest in a May 14 crash on Kahekili Highway that killed Tiare Franco of Haiku.
The 22 year old is also wanted on two grand jury warrants for attempted murder in connection with a shooting in July 2010.
We'll have the latest tonight on Hawaii News Now beginning at 5 p.m.
Copyright 2011 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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It's so local minded to victimize the native Hawaiian women.
"Police are continuing to investigate an early-morning crash May 14 that killed a 22-year-old Haiku woman. Police said she wasn't wearing a seat belt and was ejected from a 2005 Dodge pickup truck that went off Kahekili Highway in Kahakuloa."
Click It campaign to begin
Fatal crashes send home the point that belts can save lives
May 22, 2011
WAILUKU - With a woman's death in a car crash this month underscoring the importance of wearing seat belts, Maui police will step up enforcement as part of the nationwide Click It Or Ticket campaign.
Starting Monday and continuing through June 5, officers will set up seat belt checkpoints and do roving patrols throughout the county looking for motorists who aren't buckled up, said traffic investigator Dawn Danley, who is coordinating the enforcement for the Maui Police Department.
"We're not giving breaks," Danley said.
She said traffic and patrol officers will carry out the enforcement during both daytime and night hours.
Along with ticketing motorists who aren't wearing seat belts and drivers who don't have young children properly secured in child safety seats or booster seats, police anticipate issuing citations for other violations, including using cellphones while driving.
The goal of the enforcement is to increase the compliance rate, which was measured at 97.6 percent statewide after Click It Or Ticket enforcement last year. At 97.2 percent, Maui County had the second highest rate in the state, trailing Honolulu with 98.2 percent.
Police have seen how using seat belts can lessen injuries, as well as how not wearing them can be deadly, said Sgt. Barry Aoki of the police Traffic Section.
Police are continuing to investigate an early-morning crash May 14 that killed a 22-year-old Haiku woman. Police said she wasn't wearing a seat belt and was ejected from a 2005 Dodge pickup truck that went off Kahekili Highway in Kahakuloa.
In separate car crashes last year, two people who weren't wearing seat belts were thrown from vehicles and killed, Aoki said.
One crash was on Kamehameha V Highway on Molokai, where a 24-year-old man was killed when he drove a vehicle that hit a signpost, fire hydrant and fence post. In another crash on Honoapiilani Highway near Kuikahi Drive in Waikapu, a 39-year-old passenger was killed when he was ejected from the back seat of a car that overturned, police said.
"You increase your chances of survival when you're wearing a seat belt, whether it be in the front or the back," Aoki said. "People should use it.
"The excuse is that they don't want to get trapped in the car. That's rarely happened. The ones who stay in the vehicle have a better chance of survival than the ones ejected."
Under state law, drivers and front-seat passengers are required to use seat belts. Those under age 18 are required to use seat belts no matter where they're sitting in a vehicle. The fine is $92 for a seat belt violation.
Child car seats are required for children under age 4. Children from ages 4 to 7 are required to be restrained in either car seats or booster seats while riding in vehicles.
If children under age 8 aren't properly secured in child seats or booster seats, drivers are ticketed and must appear in court. A first offense carries a fine of up to $100, as well as up to $70 in fees and the requirement to attend a four-hour child passenger restraint system safety class. Penalties increase for subsequent offenses.
For drivers ticketed for using cellphones or other electronic entertainment devices while driving, the fine is $97 for a first offense.
During past enforcement, police have seen more seat belt violations in outlying areas, including Paia and Makawao.
Aoki said some drivers mistakenly think they can't be cited if they buckle their seat belts but wear shoulder harnesses behind their backs or under their arms. Those drivers could still be ticketed because the law requires that seat belts be worn properly, Aoki said.
Even with banners and fliers alerting people to the increased seat belt enforcement, police find violators, Aoki said.
He said enforcement won't end once the Click It Or Ticket campaign is over.
"It doesn't mean we're going to stop after the two weeks," Aoki said. "We're going to keep going until everybody wears their seat belt."
* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.
Attempted Murder investigation launched following Waiehu shooting on Maui
July 26th, 2010 · Comments (0) · Featured, Maui News
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Posted by Wendy Osher
Maui Police are investigating a shooting incident over the weekend that resulted in the hospitalization of a 30-year-old man for a gunshot wound to his thigh. The incident was reported at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday when officers responded to multiple reports of shots being fired in Waiehu.
While en route to the Olena Street location at the 800 block area of Waiehu, police began a high speed pursuit of a suspect vehicle. The pursuit ensued until 12:30 in the morning when the silver Honda was eventually stopped on the Kahekili Highway near Kahakuloa Village.
The operator, a 21-year-old Waiehu male was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in the first degree and was transported to the Wailuku police station.
The injured man was found at an Aukai Street residence in Waiehu. He was admitted to the Maui Memorial Medical Center in good condition with a single gunshot wound to his left thigh.
According to witness reports, a confrontation on Olena Street involving several people preceded the report of shots being fired. The incident remains under investigation.
http://youtu.be/48K5Y0421Ig
We are all in pain, in listening to this song it brings comfort. My brother --Tiare's dad is hurting for he loves his daughter like any father would. The stand off was so painful, it may have worked for the Maui Police, but for us it was a hard and painful days for all of us.
Sadly, we know he will get away with this crime and do it again!
And continue to cause more pain to more victums. My niece was a victum not the criminal, but is any one listening?