Hawai’i Police Department
Criminal Investigation Division – Area I
Captain Rio Amon-Wilkins
Phone: (808) 961-2251
Report No.: 23-038648
Media Release
Hawai’i Island police arrested 36-year-old Jason Leroy Kime, following a nearly 6 hour-long standoff at a business on Kalanikoa Street in Hilo, on Tuesday night, May 2, 2023.
On Tuesday, shortly after 5:00 p.m., members of the Area I Crime Reduction Unit and Criminal Investigation Section, received information that Kime was located within a self-storage facility on Kalanikoa Street in Hilo. As police responded to the business, they were able to confirm that Kime was on the property, and as they attempted to contact him, he verbally threatened officers as he locked and barricaded himself within a storage unit.
Due to the circumstances and threats made by Kime, the department’s Special Response Team and Crisis Negotiators responded to assist in apprehending Kime. The storage facility was also evacuated, and Kalanikoa Street was closed between Kuawa Street and Piilani Street.
Kime, who is from Oahu, is believed to have only been on this island for a couple weeks, was being sought by police for a series of violent offenses. He had two outstanding arrest warrants; one was for a violent home-invasion robbery in Hilo on April 20, 2023, that left a 72-year-old female injured. The other incident occurred on April 21, 2023, in Hilo, involving a residential burglary and vehicle theft.
Upon arrival of the Special Response Crisis Negotiation Team, negotiators verbally engaged with Kime in attempts to peacefully resolve the situation; however, Kime refused to exit the facility.
During the course of this incident, Kime managed to breach a drywall barrier of the unit, and enter into two additional bays of the facility. Shortly before 11:30 p.m., after negotiations failed, Special Response Team members entered the facility and Kime was taken into custody.
A female acquaintance of Kime, 30-year-old Luwika Hauanio, of Hilo, was also arrested in connection to this incident, as she on the property and operating a stolen vehicle, which she used to intentionally strike a subsidized police vehicle at the scene.
There were no reported injuries as a result of this incident.
In addition to the charges associated with the two arrest warrants for Kime, he and Hauanio remain in custody relative to last nights events and several other incidents.
Area I Criminal Investigation Division personnel are continuing this investigation. Search warrants are being drafted for the stolen vehicle Kime and Hauanio were operating, as well as the storage unit rented by Kime.
