HonoluluAdvertiser.com
July 1, 2008
Man gives up peacefully in Waipahu
By Dave Dondoneau
and David Waite
ROYAL KUNIA – A standoff involving a Schofield Barracks soldier ended peacefully at about 10:40 a.m. today when the man walked out of his Royal Kunia townhouse with his hands up and surrendered to police.
Neighbors said they were told the soldier had returned earlier this year from Iraq and was diagnosed recently with post traumatic stress disorder.
Police began evacuating residents of one area of the Villas at Royal Kunia at about 4 p.m. yesterday after becoming concerned that the soldier might be a threat to himself or others.
The soldier, who lives in unit 20 of the townhouse complex at 94-976 Hanauna St., was described by neighbors as tall and thin. They said they often saw him in front of his unit cooking food on an outdoor grill with friends.
Neighbors said the man’s wife left with the couple’s two children yesterday to return to the Mainland. They said police were called to the home about two weeks ago and escorted the wife from the home following a domestic argument.
Neighbors Jade and Emery Black were evacuated yesterday at about 6 p.m. They said they had heard “the guy had two guns.”
Jade Black watched the police operation from across the street until midnight and then went to stay with friends.
The Blacks returned this morning to find the situation had not been resolved.
Andy Reckers and wife, Hannah, went to walk their dog – adopted from the Hawaiian Humane Society six days ago – and saw police surrounding the townhouse complex when they returned.
They also stayed overnight with friends hoping to return to their home this morning.
Levi Reulecke and his wife, Ericka, who live diagonally across in the same cluster from the unit in question, said police came to their home about 8:15 last night and told them to leave.
They said they were surprised by all of the commotion and that their neighbor in question “seemed like a normal guy – until yesterday.”
About 10:15 a.m. this morning, police were allowing some of the residents who were evacuated earlier to return to get some of their belongings and to retrieve their cars.
The west-bound lanes of Anonui Street, which connects with Hanauna Street, were open but the east-bound lanes of Anonui remained closed to traffic.
Police had set up shade tents and brought in an air-conditioned trailer to allow SWAT team members to take a break from the heat.
Leave a Reply