(BIVN) – 45 year-old Ronald P.K. Kahihikolo of Ocean View was sentenced to a twenty-year prison term on Friday, after he pleaded “No Contest” to charges stemming from a March 2023 shooting and manhunt on Hawaiʻi island.

Following a shooting in Kaʻū on March 7, 2023, Kahihikolo fled from a scene in Kona where an officer-involved shooting resulted in the death of another man. Police pursued Kahihikolo – who was driving a stolen white Dodge sedan – through Waimea to the Kalōpā area, where he was eventually arrested. 

Hawaiʻi County Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen issued a news release detailing the sentencing of Kahihikolo in Kona Circuit Court:

On February 27, 2024, Kahihikolo appeared in Kona Circuit Court where pleaded “No Contest” to the charges of Attempted Assault in the First Degree and Carrying or Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Separate Felony in relation to a March 7, 2023 incident where Kahihikolo shot at his girlfriend with a shotgun at an Outrigger Drive residence. Kahihikolo also pleaded “No Contest” to charges of Unauthorized Control of a Propelled Vehicle in the First Degree and Resisting Order to Stop in the First Degree in relation to a March 10, 2023 incident, where he disregarded police attempts to arrest him while operating a stolen Dodge Charger.

Carrying or Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Separate Felony carries a penalty of a twenty-year prison term. Attempted Assault in the First Degree carries a penalty of a ten-year prison term.

The case was initiated by Officers Melissa D’Angelo, Isaac Michaels, and Xylon Takata, Ka‘u Patrol, and the felony investigation was led by Detective Blayne Matsui and assisted by Detectives Len Hamakado, Jason Foxworthy, and Donovan Kohara, Area II Criminal Investigations Section, Hawai‘i Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Kate Perazich, Matt Woodward, and Chase Murray.

The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney remains dedicated to the pursuit of justice with integrity and commitment. Anyone having information to assist local law enforcement should call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.