Multiple witnesses told police they saw a 21-year-old Pahoa man fire several shots in the air early Saturday morning before pointing a semiautomatic pistol at another man in a public parking lot in Hilo.
According to a court document, witnesses told officers — who had responding to a report of gunshots — that shortly before 2 a.m., they were hanging out at the parking lot in an area known as “Isles” off Lihiwai Street near Liliuokalani Gardens when a verbal altercation broke out between two men.
A third man, Ariitea Lucas-Waters, exited the driver’s seat of his lifted, silver Toyota Tacoma armed with a semiautomatic handgun and fired about five shots into the air, witnesses stated.
He then reportedly approached one of the men involved in the altercation — identified in documents only as “Kaipo” — and pointed the pistol directly at his head.
At that point, bystanders intervened and separated Lucas-Walters and Kaipo. Lucas-Walters reportedly left with another man and a woman, but fired more shots in the air before getting into the truck to depart.
Officers later spotted Lucas-Walters’ truck on Haihai Street and stopped it in near the Hilo Municipal Golf Course.
Lucas-Waters and his two passengers, 18-year-old Kahiau Reilly of Kealakekua and 18-year-old Kawehileimaileokalani Tam-Porter of Pahoa, were arrested on suspicion of reckless endangering and booked at the Hilo Police Station.
Both Reilly and Tam-Porter were released without being charged, pending further investigation.
The 2005 Toyota Tacoma was taken into evidence and a search warrant was executed, police said.
The search resulted in the recovery of a loaded 9 mm semiautomatic pistol with no serial number — also known as a “ghost gun” — live ammunition, spent ammunition casings, 8 grams of cocaine, small unused zip-type packets, a digital scale, and more than $850 in cash.
Four spent 9 mm casings and a live round also were found at Isles, the documents state.
Lucas-Walters was charged with first-degree reckless endangering, carrying a loaded firearm on a public roadway, illegally carrying a handgun, two counts of illegally carrying ammunition, possessing a firearm without a serial number, possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony drug offense, and second- and third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug.
His bail was set at $157,000.
At Lucas-Waters’ initial court hearing Monday, Deputy Public Defender Jared Auna requested his client be freed on court-supervised release — a form of cashless bail — or that bail be reduced by half to $78,500. Deputy Prosecutor Andrew Son objected.
Hilo District Judge Bruce Larson maintained Lucas-Waters’ bail at $157,000 and ordered him to appear today for a preliminary hearing.
Lucas-Waters remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.