Pearl City woman
tells of her fear at
being held hostage
Wayman Kaua is on trial
for attempted murderOct. 30, 1998 - Armed standoff
By Debra Barayuga
Star-BulletinVictoria Bart was watching television in her rented apartment at a Pearl City duplex a year ago when she heard what she thought were gunshots coming from inside the house.
She called 911 but never finished the call because a stranger kicked in her door, pointed a rifle at her and began yelling.
"Sista, if you no like die today, get your a-- out of this room," yelled a man she identified yesterday as Wayman "Kaleo" Kaua, a convicted felon on parole at the time.
"He scared me ... " said Bart, who nervously took the witness stand in the attempted murder trial of Kaua, accused of shooting at police officers who were seeking to arrest him for parole violations.
She had no choice but to comply, Bart said.
"You don't question a gun barrel in your face."
City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said the evidence will show that Kaua attempted to kill the police officers, used a firearm to hold his hostage against her will, used his wife and Bart as hostages or shields, was a felon in possession of a firearm, and endangered members at a nearby church -- all because he didn't want to go back to prison. If convicted of attempted murder, Kaua faces life in prison without parole.
On Oct. 29, 1998, Kaua held Bart hostage for nearly 16 hours with the rifle pointed at her throughout the evening, she testified.
She said she "lost it" a couple of times during the evening and broke down crying. Kaua allowed her to call her boyfriend to assure him she was OK and that she wasn't going to be harmed.
Bart said she was worried that police would hit her by mistake if they fired at Kaua, so she suggested to Kaua and his wife that they stay away from the windows and remain in an area of the home that could not be seen from the outside. She and Kaua's wife went from room to room covering windows with blankets and mattresses. They watched the 10 p.m. news to see what was going on outside.
Bart said she asked Kaua to let her go several times but he refused, repeatedly saying he didn't want to have to shoot her.
He later apologized to her and said he couldn't release her because she was their insurance policy. He also told her if he had to go down, he wasn't going down alone, Bart said.
His mood during the 24-hour standoff that paralyzed the Pacific Palisades community ranged from friendly to angry, depending on his conversations with police negotiators, Bart said.
When he got angry, he would fire off rounds from a rifle that belonged to the home's caretaker. He fired into the walls, the roof, at police officers hiding behind a stone wall across the street on Waimano Home Road or at another officer in the valley below who was stationed in the parking lot of a church and daycare center off Komo Mai Drive. Prosecutors say he fired at least 20 rounds.
Kaua finally agreed to let Bart walk out unharmed the next morning because he was hungry after staying up all night.
"I was traded for breakfast," Bart said.
But before police delivered his breakfast, Kaua pointed the rifle at her chest and pushed her out onto the balcony overlooking Waimano Home Road, in plain view of police sharpshooters.
When Bart pushed the barrel away, he told her, "Don't do that. My finger's on the trigger."
Deputy public defender Todd Eddins said in opening statements that Kaua was not aiming at anyone when he fired shots outside the home and only did so to buy more time.
"Wayman Kaua had a death wish, but he did not wish the death of a fellow human being," Eddins said. "He's not trying to murder anybody, much less a police officer."
Eddins portrayed Kaua, the father of four, as a family man, a born-again Christian who after being paroled in August 1997 found work doing maintenance for Gentry Homes.
He was later laid off and had problems finding full-time work. Bills started piling up and he began arguing with his wife. He began feeling like a failure. He later began using crystal methamphetamine, Eddins said.
Kaua admitted to his parole officer in early October 1998 that he had used "ice" and tested positive a few days later.
After Kaua failed to report to his parole officer and because of the positive drug test, his parole officer had an arrest warrant issued and called Kaua in for a meeting at the parole office. But Kaua arrived early and, after spotting sheriff deputies, bolted.
Kaua knew that if he went back to prison, he wouldn't be released until March 2001, Eddins said.
