Hilo man is charged in Puna shooting

Hawaii County police have charged a 68-year-old Hilo man with firing a gunshot that shattered the window of a van containing six members of a Volcano family in the Hawaiian Acres subdivision in Puna.

Victor Kwock Chung Chun was charged Wednesday with first-degree reckless endangering, a firearms violation, second-degree commercial promotion of marijuana, second-degree promotion of a detrimental drug, two counts of first-degree promotion of a detrimental drug and three counts of possessing drug paraphernalia.

Police said Chun had been shooting at a dog he suspected of killing chickens at a house on Road 10 on Tuesday when a van carrying a couple and four children passed into the line of fire. No one was injured. Another man was also arrested, but released pending further investigation.

Escapee suspected of crimes while at large

A prison escapee on the loose since March 5 was arrested Thursday night in Makiki, and is being investigated as a suspect in a kidnapping and robbery.

Isaac Ariola, 27, was arrested at 1654 Liholiho St. about 7:25 p.m. Thursday.

Police said Ariola left the Laumaka Work Furlough facility March 5 by bus to go to his workplace in Kaneohe but failed to return as scheduled that night. A CrimeStoppers alert was given asking the public’s help in locating him.

Ariola is also being investigated for second-degree robbery and kidnapping involving a woman during his time on the loose, said Honolulu police Sgt. Kim Buffett. Additional details were not immediately available, Buffett said.

At the same time Ariola was arrested, a 20-year-old Aiea woman was arrested for hindering prosecution for helping a prison escapee remain at large. The woman was not the victim in the kidnapping and robbery, Buffett said.

Cause of restaurant fire not yet found

Fire investigators have been unable to determine the cause of a fire at a Waikiki hotel restaurant Tuesday night.

The 9:51 p.m. fire at the Ocean House Restaurant in the Ocean Tower of the Outrigger Reef Hotel led to the evacuation of several hundred guests, but no one was hurt.

Investigators looked at a number of possible causes but did not have enough information to pin down the source, said Capt. Terry Seelig, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman.

Flames entered the kitchen vent duct and ignited grease in the duct, which runs up to the roof of the 10-story hotel. It’s possible the fire began in the ducts, although it may also have begun in the kitchen, Seelig said. The fire caused about $40,000 in damage, primarily to the hotel ducts.