Man shot by police
was fugitive

The suspect charged with
fleeing an officer had failed
to appear in court for a stabbing

WAILUKU » The Maui man who was shot Monday after allegedly trying to flee from police had failed to appear for his trial on the Valley Isle on May 9 on charges he stabbed another man.

Paul L.V. Campos: The suspect has a long criminal history that includes 42 convictions

Paul L.V. Campos, 51, of Kihei, who was in stable condition with a broken left jaw at Maui Memorial Hospital yesterday, had an arrest warrant issued by Maui Circuit Judge Joel E. August after his failure to appear in court earlier this month.

August had also ordered the forfeiture of Campos' $50,000 in bail.

Campos has a long criminal record, including 83 arrests and 42 prior convictions -- one a 10-year prison sentence for second-degree robbery in the early 1990s, police said.

Campos, born on Oahu, has been living on Maui periodically since 1973, he told state officials reviewing his background earlier this year.

Campos said he worked for four years helping to clear ordnance on Kahoolawe and had been staying with his mother in Kihei.

He was indicted by a Maui grand jury on second-degree assault and first-degree terroristic threatening in the stabbing of a man in Kihei on Jan. 10.

The Maui Intake Service Center, which monitors people pending the court's disposition, said Campos had failed to maintain contact on several dates while awaiting trial.

Before being shot, Campos had been living with a woman and her children for about two and a half weeks at Kihei Villages, neighbor Jeffrey Jackson said.

Jackson said the apartment was noisy with children, but became quiet once Campos moved into the unit.

"The guy seemed pretty decent. He seemed quiet, but now we know why," Jackson said.

A police officer was conducting a surveillance of the apartment area and approached Campos as he got into a sports utility vehicle, police and an eyewitness said.

The officer stepped in front of the vehicle, but Campos refused to stop and drove slowly forward, hitting the officer, who fired his weapon twice at Campos about 3:16 p.m. Monday, police said.

A Kihei Villages resident said the officer gave Campos ample opportunity to stop.

"The policeman said, 'Stop, get out the vehicle,'" said a Kihei Villages resident. "He drew his pistol. He warned the guy three or four times. He never like stop."

The resident, who decline to give his full name, said the man in the vehicle kept driving slowly forward for about 75 feet, with the officer in front trying to block the way.

The resident said the vehicle bumped the officer, and the officer fired twice.

"To me, on the officer's side, he did his job," the resident said. "He warned the driver so many times."