2 men charged
with murder in
Kapalama

An affidavit yields details
of the holiday tragedy

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

It's about 10 p.m. New Year's Eve, and trouble is brewing near a street corner in Kapalama as a blue pickup truck cruises by a group of men playing with fireworks.

Thirty minutes later, two men shot at Wolter Lane are at Queen's Hospital.

Richard Tambua, 22, is pronounced dead, but doctors are able to save his critically wounded friend, 24-year-old Donald Kamaka.

Over the next 72 hours, police had identified and arrested the alleged gunmen and recovered the suspected murder weapon from a stream.

Harvey and Rodrigo Ababa of Kalihi were charged yesterday with second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and firearm offenses. Each is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.

The two men are not brothers but are related, police said.

An affidavit filed by homicide Detective Mark Wiese in District Court yesterday details events leading to the shooting and arrests. It says that about a dozen members of the "West Side Islanders" gang, who were at 1017 Peterson Lane, walked over to nearby Wolter Lane to confront a group after learning they had been challenged to a fight.

Man approached with a gun

Witness Anthony Morris, who was setting off fireworks with Tambua and Kamaka on North King Street near Wolter Lane, told police he saw one of the approaching men pull out a black-colored semiautomatic handgun and point it in their direction.

Several shots were fired, Morris said.

Morris ran down the roadway and was pursued by one man with a knife. The rest of the gang members went after Tambua and Kamaka, who ran toward Wolter Lane, the affidavit says.

After fleeing from his pursuer, Morris returned to Wolter Lane, where he saw a "male shoot Kamaka in the stomach area while he was trying to throw a plastic bucket at the male," the report says.

Kamaka and Tambua, who was already wounded, were taken to the rear of 1250 N. King St., says the affidavit.

Both men allegedly fired

Based on information from other witnesses, Wiese's report alleges that Rodrigo Ababa, 18, shot at the victims using a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun while the gang was walking toward them on North King Street and continued shooting while walking down Wolter Lane.

As Rodrigo Ababa started back toward North King Street, witnesses said Harvey Ababa grabbed the gun from him and fired at least two more shots toward Wolter Lane at men coming out to pursue them, says the affidavit.

Harvey Ababa allegedly ran onto North King Street and was seen tossing the gun into Kapalama Stream while crossing the bridge.

Police recovered the gun from the stream at low tide Monday.

Harvey Ababa was arrested Monday at his fourth-floor apartment at 1016 Maunakea St.

Wiese's report says the suspect resisted arrest and had to be taken by force. Rodrigo Ababa surrendered to police the next day.

The incident started when Morris and his friends noticed that occupants of the blue pickup truck were giving them a "challenging look."

On its third pass, the truck stopped and the occupants swore and taunted them, Morris said.

The occupants in the truck went back to 1017 Peterson Lane to gather other gang members.

The report says Harvey and Rodrigo Ababa were at the address earlier, shooting guns in the air.