Hawai‘i Police Department
Area I Criminal Investigation Division
Captain Rio Amon-Wilkins
Phone: (808) 961-2251
Report No.: 23-094917
Media Release
Hawai‘i Police Department (HPD) detectives have charged a Puna man with multiple drug and firearms offenses following a road rage incident that took place on Thursday evening, October 5, 2023, on Papaya Farms Road in Pāhoa.
At 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Puna patrol officers responded to a reported road rage incident in which a 36-year-old male victim reported being shot at. Following the incident, a male suspect exited the driver seat of a pick-up truck and fired a pistol in the direction of the victim, who had stopped and was still seated within his vehicle.
During the course of the investigation, police identified the man who shot at the victim as 36-year-old Adib Beyah, of Pāhoa, and he was subsequently arrested for first-degree terroristic threatening.
As officers were securing the scene, an acquaintance of Beyah, 40-year-old John Elijah Lewis, of Pāpa‘ikou, was located hiding under the suspect’s vehicle. He was repeatedly instructed by officers to come out from under the vehicle; however, did not immediately do so. He was arrested a short time later for obstructing government operations.
On Friday, October 6, detectives with HPD’s Area I Criminal Investigation Section executed a search warrant on a residence located off of Papaya Farms Road and recovered the suspect’s vehicle, which was towed to the Hilo police station. Upon executing an additional search warrant on the vehicle, detectives recovered more than 3 grams of cocaine, 1,030 grams of marijuana edibles, a loaded and operable 9mm semi-automatic pistol with no serial number (ghost gun), a loaded and operable 12-gauge shotgun, numerous live 12-gauge shotgun rounds, and numerous live 9mm rounds.
On Saturday, October 7, after conferring with the County Prosecutor’s Office, detectives with the Area I Criminal Investigation Section charged Beyah with the following offenses and his total bail was set at $257,000:
- First-degree terroristic threatening
- Third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug
- First-degree promotion of a harmful drug (possession of marijuana concentrate)
- First-degree promotion of a harmful drug (attempted distribution of marijuana concentrate)
- Place to keep: pistols or revolvers
- Two counts: Place to keep ammunition
- Manufacturing, purchasing, or obtaining firearm parts to assemble a firearm having no serial number.
- Place to keep: loaded firearm not pistols/revolvers
- Carrying or possessing a loaded firearm: public highways
- Possession of firearm in commission of felony drug offense
Beyah’s initial court hearing was on Monday, October 9, at Hilo District Court.
Lewis was released pending further investigation.
Police ask anyone who may have information regarding this incident to contact Detective Scotty Aloy of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 961-2381, or via email at Scotty.Aloy@hawaiicounty.gov or the police department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.