SATURDAY, JULY 7, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM 75¢
DETAILS EMERGE IN SHOOTING
SUSPECT BRIAN LEE SMITH RETURNS FROM OAHU HOSPITAL FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING
HILO — Geologists reassured
Volcano residents Thursday it is
highly unlikely that seismic activity
at the summit of Kilauea will escalate
to catastrophic levels.
“A 1 percent chance,” said
Mayor Harry Kim, quoting Tina
Neal, U.S. Geological Survey
scientist-in-charge.
Volcano-area residents attending
a Thursday night community meeting
at Cooper Center remained fixated
on that 1 percent, however.
Although Neal emphasized she
predicts the pattern of seismic activity
at Kilauea will continue as it has
for the past two months, many residents
pressed USGS representatives
about what they should do if the
worst should happen.
After lava broke out in lower
Puna on May 3, the lava lake at
Kilauea receded, causing ground
subsidence and collapses around
Halema‘uma‘u crater, which has
more than doubled in size since the
eruption began. The recession of
the crater floor is accompanied by
KEALAKEKUA — A
Honaunau man accused of
murder appeared for a preliminary
hearing Friday afternoon
in District Court wearing a hospital
gown, leg brace and sitting
in a wheelchair.
Deputies from Hawaii Island
Sheriff ’s Office flew to Oahu
earlier in the day to pick up
Brian Lee Smith, 49, so he could
appear in court on murder and
weapon violation charges.
Charges stem from a shooting
incident that occurred on June
23 on Painted Church Road
in Honaunau. Upon arrival,
Hawaii Police Department officers
confirmed one person dead
at the scene. He was later identified
as 42-year-old Thomas
Ballesteros Jr., of no permanent
address.
It was also determined that
two other men were injured in
the shooting, including the suspect,
later identified as Smith.
Both men had left the scene
before officers arrived, and
were later located and taken
to Kona Community Hospital
for treatment of
non-life-threatening
gunshot
injuries. They
were later flown
to The Queen’s
Medical Center
on Oahu for further
treatment.
On Friday,
Hawaii Police Officer Joel
Furuto testified he was the
first officer to respond to the
scene the weekend the shooting
occurred. He stated he was on
Painted Church Road at 3:10
p.m. after authorities received
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numerous calls of gunshots and
a body in the roadway in that
area.
Furuto recalled seeing two
vehicles stopped in the roadway
and a body with its legs sticking
up in the air. There was a
man outside one of the vehicles,
which was a white Chevy pickup.
The officer said the driver
was pacing and excitable.
“Initially I was 20 to 30 yards
away from the body,” the officer
told the court. “As I got closer I
saw that it was lifeless and in the
state of rigor mortis.”
As he examined the body,
Furuto testified that there
appeared to be a small puncture
wound on the left side of his
forehead on the outside of his
eyebrow.
“I believed I recognized him
to be Thomas Ballesteros,” he
stated.
Furuto added there was a
white bag under the victim’s
head and upper torso. He
recalled being surprised at the
lack of blood on the bag with
the type of wound Ballesteros
suffered.
‘Horrible
reflection on us’
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HI 87 LO 75 WEATHER, PAGE 6A
VOL. 50, NO. 188 16 PAGES
BY TIFFANY DEMASTERS
WEST HAWAII TODAY
tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com
Smith
SEE SHOOTING PAGE 5A
Burnt spray paint cans lay on the rocks near
graffiti at Lekeleke Burial Grounds on Friday.
CHELSEA JENSEN/WEST HAWAII TODAY
ROCKS SPRAY-PAINTED AT HISTORIC
BURIAL SITE ‘END OF THE WORLD’
BY CHELSEA JENSEN
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com
LEKELEKE — Vandals hit Lekeleke Burial
Grounds in recent days, spray-painting rocks and
littering at the historic site south of Keauhou.
Bright purple, teal, red and white paint rendered
into illegible graffiti now mars the rocks along the
shoreline traversed by residents and visitors alike as
they check out the area more commonly known as
“End of the World.” The burial grounds are where
300 warriors who fell in the Kuamoo Battle of 1819
are interred.
David Baldwin said he was devastated when he
came across the vandalism and piles of spray paint
cans during his Friday “morning patrol” with his dog,
Elvis.
“They attacked a very special place, and when we
walked up to that it literally took the air out of my
lungs. I felt weak. I was so upset,” said Baldwin, who
has been coming to the area for decades including
the last 10 years with Elvis.
Baldwin is pretty sure the tagging happened
Thursday night as he doesn’t remember seeing it
Wednesday morning. While tagging has occurred
before, it hasn’t been in the burial area.
“It is such a special place, and we do have tourists
that go there,” he said. “It is a horrible reflection on
us, on what we believe here as people who live here.”
SEE VANDALS PAGE 8A
What’s the worst that could happen?
WORST-CASE SCENARIOS DISCUSSED DURING VOLCANO COMMUNITY MEETING
BY MICHAEL BRESTOVANSKY
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
A satellite photograph of Kilauea summit taken Tuesday. HVNP/COURTESY PHOTO
SEE LAVA PAGE 5A
KILAUEA ERUPTION
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