Honolulu police identify woman, man considered ‘persons of interest’ in Waipahu homicide

Honolulu police have identified two people of interest in a homicide case involving man who was found dead with a gunshot wound inside a Waipahu acupuncture clinic.

In a brief news conference Friday afternoon, Lt. Deena Thoemmes of the Honolulu Police Department’s Homicide Detail said that the death of the victim, identified as Jon Tokuhara, 47, was “not a random act.”

“We have discovered that the victim was in a romantic relationship with a female. We now consider this female, along with another male, persons of interest,” Thoemmes said.

On the morning of Jan. 13, Tokuhara was found dead from a gunshot wound inside his clinic, Tokuhara Acupuncture and Healthcare clinic, prompting a murder investigation by police. The Waipahu High School graduate attended the University of Portland before studying acupuncture at Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. He then returned to Hawaii in the early 2000s.

The unidentified female and male of interest in the investigation have a shared residence, Thoemmes said. Police have executed search warrants on their “shared residence, vehicle and person.”

Both the female and male have been uncooperative in the investigation and have retained attorneys.

Thoemmes could not release additional information because it could compromise the ongoing investigation, but said that a briefing was provided in part because the shooting had made some people in the area “a little nervous.”

She added that police have been reviewing hours of surveillance footage and have spoken with several witnesses during the investigation. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to call CrimeStoppers or HPD.