Man barricades himself against SWAT unit
A Maui SWAT team surrounded a house Wednesday in Kahului, where a 22-year-old attempted-murder suspect had barricaded himself.
After a year of eluding law enforcement, Josiah Okudara was tracked down by U.S. marshals to a house on Opuku Street. Police negotiators made contact with Okudara, who holed up in the single-family house shortly after 1 p.m., said Maui police spokesman Lt. Wayne Ibarra.
The police set up a perimeter and evacuated residents from three or four of the surrounding houses.
No information was available on whether any hostages were being held, Ibarra said.
Okudara, who allegedly shot at a vehicle with five occupants and injured a man July 24, 2010, eluded law enforcement for more than a year.
After a high-speed chase following the shooting, Okudara was arrested and was later released, a law enforcement official said.
After an arrest warrant was issued, a Maui deputy prosecuting attorney asked for help from the U.S. Marshals Service.
The standoff continued as the Star-Advertiser went to press.
Vehicle injures pedestrian crossing road
An 81-year-old man was taken to the Queen’s Medical Center in serious condition Wednesday morning after he was hit by a vehicle as he crossed Vineyard Boulevard near Foster Botanical Garden.
Police closed two Ewa-bound lanes of Vineyard Boulevard for an hour after the accident that occurred at 7:09 a.m. near Aala Street in front of the Salvation Army’s headquarters building. The pedestrian’s condition was later upgraded to fair, police said.
