Hawaii Police Department
Section
Lieutenant Randall Medeiros
Phone: 961-2252
August 31, 2007
Report No. C07019575

Hilo detectives investigating a fatal shooting in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision in Puna in June have concluded their investigation and forwarded their findings to the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney.

On the morning of June 19, 2007, Puna patrol officers were flagged down at a home on Paradise Drive, where 28-year-old Jeremy Napoleon was found with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Hawaii Fire Department rescue personnel took the victim to Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m.

Early in the investigation, detectives identified 45-year-old Noel Smith as a possible suspect. Later that day, he was involved in a fatal one-car traffic accident in North Kohala.

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers determined that Smith was driving north on Akoni Pule Highway .1 mile north of the 7-mile marker in a 2007 Dodge pickup truck when he crossed the centerline, struck an embankment and overturned. He was the sole occupant. Fire rescue personnel took him to North Hawaii Community Hospital, where he died at 2:48 p.m.

A firearm was recovered at the scene of Smith's accident on Akoni Pule Highway in North Kohala. Hilo Detectives were able to confirm that the firearm is related to the shooting in Puna.

Although the suspect identified was killed, detectives submitted the completed investigation to prosecutors as a standard form of review.  This action is not uncommon in cases of this magnitude.