Man killed by police had long record

Career criminal car thief James Pickard Jr. has been identified by the city Medical Examiner’s Office as the man shot to death by two police officers in Pacific Palisades while driving a stolen car last week.

The medical examiner said Tuesday that Pickard, 51, died from gunshots to the head and torso. The initial autopsy report did not say how many times the suspect was shot. Pickard’s death was classified as a homicide.

Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha said after the Aug. 6 shooting that two of three officers who responded had fired a total of seven shots. But HPD later would not say how many shots each officer fired.

One officer is an 18-year HPD veteran, while the others have 11 and four years of service. The officers were placed on paid administrative leave, which is routine while an internal investigation is conducted of an officer-involved shooting.

The front-seat passenger in the stolen car was Evette Hilongo, who was charged with second-degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle. Hilongo entered a plea of not guilty in Honolulu District Court on Thursday and was placed on supervised release. Her trial is scheduled for Sept. 10 in Ewa District Court.

Pickard had 22 convictions, beginning in 1985 — 10 of them felonies, including eight for car theft, according to the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center.

Pickard and his passenger were parked in front of a Komo Mai Drive residence that neighbors describe as "a drug house."

After officers in two unmarked police cars checked the licence plate of the black Honda sedan, they were told the car was stolen. Three officers approached the car on foot.

The suspect drove toward the officer who was approaching him from the front, striking the officer’s vehicle, according to police. After hitting the officer’s car, the suspect then reversed the car toward two officers who were behind him, police said.

The two officers came from behind and approached the sides of the car with handguns drawn. The officer on the driver’s side of the stolen Honda fired "multiple shots" at the vehicle, according to HPD. Kealoha said the officer in front of the car also fired at the driver several times.

It was the third time police fired at a suspect within the past month.

On July 30 a six-year veteran of the force shot and killed Richard Nelson, 52, on Kuhio Avenue. Nelson, who was drunk at the time, tried to flee in his car and nearly struck the officer after hitting a bus.

About a week earlier, on July 24, a police sergeant shot at a man driving a stolen car on Red Hill. The stolen Toyota was recovered but the suspect was not caught.