Police: Armed standoff in Puna reaches ‘peaceful resolution’

An armed standoff in Nanawale Estates subdivision, just outside of Pahoa, “has had a peaceful resolution,” according to Hawaii Police Department spokeswoman Denise Laitinen.

A 65-year-old Puna man was taken into custody without incident following a lengthy standoff resulting in neighbors being evacuated.

Friday at 11:34 am, police arrested Dean Hisao Jones for several offenses stemming from an incident in which he allegedly discharged a firearm fronting a residence on Plumeria Street in the Nanawale Subdivision Thursday afternoon. Responding officers learned that Jones entered a residence of a former acquaintance, with the firearm and barricaded himself there.

The department’s Special Response Team responded to the scene. Utilizing an armored vehicle, they confirmed the suspect’s presence within the residence, and negotiators initiated contact with Jones. He refused to exit the residence.

The homeowner, a 53-year-old female, eventually left the residence on her own and met with police detectives. She was not injured during the event.

Nearby residents were evacuated for safety, as the standoff lasted throughout the night and into the morning.

Negotiators continued their efforts until Jones subsequently exited the residence and was taken into custody without incident. He is being held in the police cellblock for first-degree reckless endangering, abuse of a family/household member, and first-degree terroristic threatening. Additional charges are pending while detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigation Section continue the investigation.

Detectives executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered a firearm, ammunition, and drugs.

Anyone who may have information regarding this incident is asked to call Detective Grant Todd of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 961-2381 or email at grant.todd@hawaiicounty.gov.