A convicted felon will be detained after he allegedly shot at people with a pepper ball gun Nov. 5 outside The District and Republik nightclubs on Kapiolani Boulevard and was later found with a firearm.
According to court documents, Chris Hong Tran, 42, fought with a witness who caught him shooting people with pepper balls, which have the same effect as pepper spray and cause irritation to the eyes, nose, throat and point of impact.
The witness detained Tran until HPD officers arrived and took him into custody on suspicion of terroristic threatening.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Wes Reber Porter granted the government’s motion to detain Tran on Tuesday. On Nov. 15, Reber Porter granted a government request for a continuance allowing prosecutors to pursue an indictment anytime before Jan. 7.
Tran is charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition through a criminal complaint filed Nov. 7.
According to an affidavit by a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, when HPD officers arrived at 1349 Kapiolani Blvd. on Nov. 5, they found Tran on the ground and “individuals standing over him stating ‘he has a gun.’”
Witnesses told police they saw Tran shooting what looked like a gun, but it didn’t sound like a firearm. Tran was then seen reaching into the back of a Lexus SUV for a second firearm, authorities said.
A woman in the vehicle with Tran grabbed his arm and kept him from pulling the real weapon. A witness fought Tran and tried to restrain him, according to federal court records.
HPD officers saw a black handgun on top of the center console, which turned out to be the pepper ball gun. On the floorboard of the driver’s side, near the gas and break pedals, HPD officers recovered a Sig Sauer SP 2022 pistol.
Officers searched Tran and allegedly found a pistol magazine with nine live, 9 mm pistol rounds of ammunition in his front right pants pocket.
On Nov. 6, Tran was interviewed by HPD detectives, with an FBI agents present. Tran allegedly told them he was not the registered owner of the car, but was the primary driver.
He said he didn’t remember getting arrested or the events leading up to it.
Tran allegedly admitted “he did have a firearm that he kept” in the Lexus glove compartment but that he did not keep it loaded.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Eucker, who is prosecuting the case, and Tran’s attorney, Lars Isaacson, did not immediately reply to Honolulu Star- Advertiser requests for comment.
Tran was convicted of a federal drug charge for a methamphetamine offense in 2011, served more than a year in prison and is not allowed to own a firearm.
