Police search for armed suspect linked to 3 Puna homicides — Full press conference

[0:00] Aloha and good afternoon. I am Denise Laitinen, D-E-N-I-S-E-L-A-I-T-I-N-E-N, [0:08] the Public Relations Officer for Hawaii Police Department. Thank you for joining our live [0:15] news conference here today, where we will be discussing the search for suspect 36-year-old [0:22] Jacob Baker of Pahoa in relation to three recent homicides. Today in our news briefing, [0:29] you will be hearing from Chief Reed Mahuna, followed by our Area 1 Criminal Investigation [0:37] Division Captain Jeremy Lewis, followed by a statement from Mayor Kimo Alameda, [0:45] and then we will be opening it up for questions. When we do open it up for questions, please ask [0:52] one question at a time so that everybody can run through their questions before we start doing [0:58] follow-ups. Thank you. And without further ado, Chief. [1:06] Good afternoon, and thank you for being here. Over the past 48 hours, our island has experienced [1:13] three separate homicides in the Puna District, all of which we believe are connected and involve [1:21] a single suspect. First and foremost, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the families [1:28] and loved ones of the victims. These are a tragic series of events, and our thoughts are with those [1:35] who are grieving at this time. The Hawaii Police Department understands the fear and concerns [1:41] incidents like this bring to our community. I want to assure the public that we have mobilized [1:47] significant resources and personnel to address this situation swiftly and thoroughly. Bringing this [1:54] suspect into custody without anyone further being harmed is the number one priority of this police [2:01] department. Our officers and investigators have been working around the clock since this first incident was [2:07] reported. At this time, we are actively investigating three homicide scenes in the Pahoa area, and we have [2:17] identified a suspect in connection with all of these cases. The suspect is identified as Jacob or Jake [2:25] Baker, male 36 of Pahoa. While this remains an active and ongoing investigation, we are asking for the [2:32] public's assistance and vigilance as we continue our efforts. Out of respect for the integrity of the [2:39] investigation, there are limitations to the details that we can share right now. However, we are committed [2:45] to keeping the community informed with accurate and verifiable information when it becomes available. I also [2:53] want to reassure the residents of this community that public safety remains our top priority. We are [3:00] increasing patrol presence in the affected areas and coordinating closely with our partners to ensure [3:07] the community is kept absolutely safe. I will now turn it over to Captain Lewis of our Criminal Investigation [3:15] Division. He will provide a timeline of events and details that we are able to release at this time. [3:21] Keep it in mind that this is an ongoing investigation and there are certain things that we cannot reveal. [3:27] I also want to make sure that I restate that the suspect in this case, Jacob Baker, male 36 of Pahoa, [3:35] should be considered armed and extremely, extremely dangerous. We do not ask any member of the public to [3:41] approach. Please use caution. Do not approach the suspect. Call 911 or our non-emergency number at [3:47] 935-3311 with any information as to his whereabouts. Captain. Thank you, Chief Muhuna. Good afternoon. [3:57] My name is Captain Jeremy Scott Lewis and I'm the captain of the Area 1 Criminal Investigation Division. [4:03] Over the past two days, Hoi Island Police have been investigating three suspicious deaths that occurred [4:09] within the Puna District. Detectives are actively working to determine the circumstances surrounding these [4:15] cases. The first incident occurred on Monday evening, May 25, at approximately 7.59 p.m. [4:23] Puna Patrol officers responded to a residence off Railroad Avenue in Pahoa. Upon arrival, officers [4:30] located a male party partially submerged inside a cement pond. At the initial stages of the investigation, [4:39] detectives could not immediately determine whether foul play was involved, as there are no indications [4:45] that the death may have been related or possibly to a medical incident. However, following an autopsy [4:53] conducted this morning, preliminary findings indicate that the death is being investigated [4:58] as a homicide. The second incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon, May 26, at approximately 12.39 p.m. [5:06] Officers responded to a residence off Papaya Farms Road in Pahoa. Officers located a deceased male with [5:13] apparent blunt force trauma injuries. Based off of these injuries observed, detectives were able to [5:19] determine early in the investigation that this case was a homicide. Later that same evening, at approximately [5:26] 9.58 p.m., officers responded to a property off Kalapana Kapoho Beach Road in Pahoa for the check [5:35] of the welfare of a male party. Officers located another deceased male on the property with apparent injuries. [5:42] Detectives immediately responded and are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding this [5:48] death. The first and second incidents occurred in close proximity, approximately 400 to 500 feet. [6:01] The third incident occurred approximately 19 miles away from the first and second incident. Detectives from [6:08] the Area 1 Criminal Investigation Section have responded to all three scenes and have been working [6:13] continuously throughout this investigation. At this time, police are attempting to locate [6:18] Jacob Baker, a 36-year-old male from Pahoa, in questions for connections with this investigation. [6:27] We are asking anyone who knows his whereabouts or anyone who maybe have observed any suspicious [6:32] activity in these areas to go ahead and contact police immediately. Again, as the Chief said earlier, [6:40] this male party is considered armed and very dangerous. Please do not make contact with him. [6:45] Call 911 immediately. We understand these incidents are deeply concerning to our community. I want to [6:52] assure the public that our detectives, patrol officers, and partner agencies are working around [6:58] the clock to gather information, follow-up leads, and ensure the safety of our community. Thank you, Chief. [7:04] Thank you, Captain and Chief Mahuna. I too want to express my deepest sympathy to the families, [7:18] friends, and loved ones of the three people who lost their lives. Our community mourns with you, and we [7:25] will do everything in our power to support you and bring whoever is responsible to justice. Public safety [7:31] is our highest priority, and our office has been in close contact with the police department throughout [7:37] this incident. This is an active, ongoing investigation, and we will continue to provide updates as the [7:43] situation develops, and just to make sure that you're all safe and you're informed. I also ask everyone [7:51] to remain alert and vigilant, and to contact the police department if you have any information that [7:57] could help this investigation. Okay, at this time, I'd like to turn it back to the Chief and to the Captain [8:03] for any questions. Mahalo. Chief. Okay, Chief. First, we're going to take in-person questions. [8:14] Kelsey, do you have any questions? I'm so sorry. My question is, do you all have an address for [8:30] Baker, or can that be shared? We do not. We do not have a permanent address for him at this time. [8:39] Okay, I want to check in with our media who are attending via Zoom. We have a question from Bryce Moore [8:48] at KHON2. Hi there. Yes, can you folks hear me okay? Can you folks hear me all right? Okay, we are not [9:06] hearing from Bryce. Perhaps if Bryce types his question in the comments. At this time, do we have [9:16] any other comments from media who are attending? I will ask them to please type their questions in the [9:25] chat, just to make sure that we are reading it accurately. Bryce, if you can please go ahead and [9:34] type your question. In the meantime, Bryce from KHON2 is asking us, what can you tell us about any [9:44] previous encounters with this suspect? Is he known to police? The suspect in this case is known to the [9:52] community and known to the police. We don't have any significant contacts with him recently, but he is [9:57] someone that is known to the police. Okay, any other questions from our media members on Zoom? [10:09] We have a question from Aali'i with Hawaii News Now. Aali'i, are you able to ask your question, [10:22] or do you need to type? Yes, can you folks hear me? Yes, we can hear you. Okay, so we're hearing talk of a [10:31] potential fourth victim. Is that something you folks have been alerted to? We are not aware of a [10:41] fourth victim at this time. And again, Aali, if people have information like that, they are encouraged [10:49] to call 911 or non-emergency line 808-935-3311 for our officers in order to investigate that. Okay, [11:00] another question from Bryce Moore at KHON2. Are these believed to be random killings or targeted? [11:08] At this time, we don't have a motive. So we do not know the motive of the suspect, [11:14] other than to say that we are confident that the suspect is involved in all three homicides. [11:20] We have an additional question from Tiffany DeMasters at Big Island Now. Do we know how the victims are [11:27] connected at this time? We don't have any connection between the victims other than the fact that victim [11:34] number one and number two lived in close proximity to one another. We don't have a connection between [11:43] the three victims other than that. We have a question from Kimber at KITV. How did you folks [11:50] identify Baker as a suspect? What leads did you folks receive? We're not able to discuss that at this [11:59] time. Sorry, that was a question from Ali'i Duklo at Hawaii News Now. Ali'i was asking, [12:07] how did we develop Baker as a suspect? Kimber at KITV is asking, what are the active search efforts [12:16] currently underway at this time? So we have significant resources out in the Puna district [12:22] following up on leads where we feel the suspect may be. We cannot disclose at this time exactly what [12:28] methods we're using to search for the suspect as he's still at large. An additional question from [12:40] Kimber at KITV. Is there a message for Baker if he is watching this? Absolutely. If the suspect is [12:49] watching this, we would like him to contact the police, turn himself in, and don't risk any further [12:57] harm to anyone else or himself. Just come in. He can surrender to the police and that would be [13:04] that would be my message. An additional question from Ali'i Duklo at Hawaii News Now. Can you folks [13:12] clarify, is Daniel his middle name and if not an additional last name? I believe that to be his [13:20] middle name. Okay. And then a question from Kelsey Walling from Big Island Now. Thank you. Last [13:29] question from me. Is the suspect known to have any sort of firearm or weapon that you guys can share? [13:35] Any known by the police? Yes. We don't know him to have access or to have a firearm. A firearm was not [13:44] used in any of the three homicides, but he could always get access to one later. But as far as we know, [13:52] we don't have any information to that effect. Chief Madeline Valera from Civil Beat is asking, [14:00] why do you believe Baker is responsible for all three killings? We are not able to disclose [14:06] what investigation led to that. However, our investigation led to us being able to put [14:15] together that he is a suspect in all three. We can't disclose that at this time. And one more question [14:22] from Bryce Moore at KHON2. What makes police believe three homicides are related? So throughout [14:30] our investigation, we determined that they are connected. We cannot disclose at this time the [14:37] evidence that we have that connects the three or the method that we use to get that information. [14:44] But we are confident that the suspect here is responsible or involved in all three homicides. [14:52] A question from Tiffany DeMasters at Big Island Now. Are police investigating death threats against [14:59] a woman who filed a restraining order against Baker? That I'm not aware of. I'm not aware of that. [15:06] Okay. If there are no further questions, I'm going to close it out for questions at this time. Final [15:13] round of questions. Do we have ages of the victims? This is from Tiffany DeMasters at Big Island Now. [15:21] Yes. So victim number one is a male 69 years old. Victim number two is a male 79 years old. And victim [15:31] number three is a male 69 years old. Final question from John Burnett, Hawaii Tribune Herald. Is there any [15:39] indication that the blood force trauma victims were victims of any type of weapons other than the human [15:46] body? Yes. Okay. I want to thank everybody for joining us today. We will be issuing additional media [15:57] releases on our website, hawaiipelieves.gov, via Everbridge, and on our social media channels. I [16:05] want to thank Mayor Kimo Alameda for joining us today, as well as Chief Mahuna and Captain Jeremy Lewis. Thank you.