Alleged Kona gunman charged with attempted murder 02-19-05

HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
WEST HAWAII CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIVISION
CAPTAIN ROBERT P. HICKCOX
PHONE: 326-4646, EXT. 263
FEBRUARY 19, 2005

Photo of Charles Paulino

CHARLES K. PAULINO
…held on $279,000 bail

MEDIA RELEASE UPDATE

A 25-year-old Hilo man who allegedly fired on three state highway workers Wednesday (February 16, 2005) and then tried to pull a gun on arresting police officers has been charged with a number of offenses, including attempted murder, theft and drug promotion.

West Hawaii Criminal Investigation Section detectives charged the suspect, Charles K. Paulino Jr., on Friday (February 18, 2005) with the following offenses:

  • Five counts of attempted murder for firing at three state highway employees and later attempting to use a firearm while being arrested later that evening.
  • One count of use of a firearm in commission of a felony.
  • One count of attempted theft.
  • One count of criminal property damage.
  • One count of promoting dangerous drugs.
  • One count of illegal possession of drug paraphernalia.
  • One count of illegal place to keep firearms.
  • One count of prohibited ownership of firearms.
  • One count of having not permit to acquire firearms.

Paulino is being held in the Kona police cellblock in lieu of $279,000 bail.

The suspect allegedly fired shots at three state workers who caught him trying to steal a backhoe from a baseyard facility Wednesday morning.

Responding to a 9 a.m. report of shots being fired in the area of the 23-mile marker on Hawaii Belt Road in North Kona, Kona patrol officers determined that state highway workers were inspecting their baseyard when they observed suspicious activity inside. On entering the baseyard, they encountered a male suspect attempting to remove a backhoe from the gated facility.

The suspect fled on foot in the makai direction on an unimproved road, and the state workers gave chase. The state workers stopped the foot pursuit when the suspect reportedly brandished a handgun and fired multiple shots at them.

About 10 p.m. that evening, Paulino was arrested as he was walking along Hawaii Belt Road (Route 190) near the 26-mile marker, about three miles from the scene of the earlier shooting.

Alerted to the suspect’s location, two Kona patrol officers using a pickup truck spotted the suspect walking along the road, at which time the officers confronted him.

Resisting arrest, Paulino reached into his waistband and tried to pull out a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, but the officers subdued and handcuffed him.

Police recovered the handgun, which was loaded and had a laser sight. They also recovered an “ice” pipe, a pipe frequently used to smoke crystal methamphetamine, on the suspect.

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