Hawaii Island police have charged a Captain Cook man with 20 offenses following an argument involving a handgun in a Kona parking lot.
At 10:35 a.m. Tuesday, Kona Patrol officers responded to a parking lot at a retail store on the 75-1000 block of Henry Street. A witness reported hearing an argument in a Dodge Charger between a man and a woman and the woman screaming about a gun, police said.
A patrol officer saw a vehicle matching the reported description traveling north on Ane Keohokalole Highway and stopped it. He observed a handgun in the vehicle and arrested both occupants, 40-year-old Duane K. Grace of Captain Cook and 31-year-old Radiance A. Whigham of Kailua-Kona, on suspicion of place to keep a handgun. They were taken to the Kona police cellblock pending further investigation.
The Charger was recovered and taken to the Kona police station.
Officers continuing the investigation in the parking lot located an unoccupied Honda sedan, which had been operated by Grace, with its motor still running. They observed a cut straw with residue inside the car and recovered the car as evidence, according to police.
Officers from the Area II Criminal Investigations and Vice sections served search warrants on both vehicles and recovered a loaded handgun, 50 additional rounds of ammunition, 17.3 grams of methamphetamine, 6.8 grams of marijuana, 30 Alprazolam pills, 16 additional cut pieces of the pills, and assorted drug paraphernalia.
On Wednesday, police released Whigham from police custody without charges. Investigation revealed that the couple knew each other and that Grace had forced his way into Whigham’s car and threatened her with the gun, police said.
At 11:10 a.m. Thursday, detectives charged Grace with kidnapping, robbery, unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, parole violation, promoting a harmful drug, promoting a detrimental drug, four counts of promoting a dangerous drug, four counts of drug paraphernalia and six weapons offenses. His bail was set at $383,000.
