Police arrest Hilo man involved in weapons incident

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A Hilo man has been charged with six offenses in connection with an encounter involving a handgun and a machete, according to the Hawaii Police Department.

A Hilo man has been charged with six offenses in connection with an encounter involving a handgun and a machete, according to the Hawaii Police Department.

At 11:49 a.m. Wednesday, South Hilo Patrol officers responded to a report of a weapons incident at a home on the 1100 block of Ainaola Drive in Hilo.

A 59-year-old man reported an unknown man had entered his home with a handgun in one hand and a machete in the other and then pointed the gun at the victim and ordered him into the victim’s pickup truck. When the victim’s dog barked, the intruder fled on foot, police said.

About 40 minutes later, police located the suspect, identified as 36-year-old Richard Mattos Jr. of Hilo, at a home on the next block. Police recovered a loaded .22 caliber revolver and a machete.

Mattos was arrested and taken to the Hilo police cellblock while Area I Criminal Investigations Section detectives continued the investigation.

At 11:45 a.m. Thursday, detectives charged Mattos with first-degree burglary, first-degree terroristic threatening, unlawful imprisonment and three firearms offenses. His bail was set at $145,000.

He remains at the cellblock pending his initial court appearance scheduled for Friday.