CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
The suspect's truck, in foreground, came to a crashing halt on Waipahu Street after it hit a truck and fence.
Chased down
An islandwide pursuit lasts more
than two hours, causing injuries
and numerous car accidents
Two men in a stolen car led police on an islandwide car chase for more than two hours yesterday afternoon and caused injuries and accidents before finally being arrested.
Frederick J. Morales, 25, and Brandon Ikaika Molina, 22, were first noticed by police in Aiea, where an officer spotted them trying to hide from him in a stolen car. The pair took off, and in the process of trying to escape police, they hit numerous cars, were shot at by police, hijacked a second vehicle and nearly circled the island before they were arrested -- Morales first in Punaluu, and Molina later in Waipahu. Two people were injured during the chase.
"Here's the short version," said Deputy Chief Paul Putzulu during a news conference yesterday. "We chased them, we lost them, we chased them, we caught them."
For now, both men have been arrested for auto theft, though Putzulu said "other charges are pending."
"It's going to take a little while to sort through the entire scene of the chase and the various collisions."
Putzulu outlined the series of events:
The pursuit began at 10:54 a.m. near Aloha Stadium when an officer noticed the suspects in a silver two-door '97 Honda Civic acting "suspiciously," by ducking under the dashboard as the officer passed by. The officer called in the license plate number and discovered that the car was reported stolen.
By then, however, Morales, who was identified as the driver, had already decided to take off and got on the Moanalua Freeway eastbound at speeds of up to 70 to 75 mph, according to police. The suspects soon got off the freeway at the Puuloa Road offramp and then got into their first collision in Mapunapuna near Pukoloa and Ahua streets.
From there, police said, the pair sideswiped three other cars along the way to Middle Street and took Nimitz Highway and Ala Moana to Waikiki. They made a U-turn on Hobron Street and took Atkinson Drive to Kapiolani Boulevard, where police made their first of two attempts to stop the vehicle. That attempt failed, and police tried again when the suspects were near King and Bingham streets, only to have the suspects drive off once more.
The suspects made their way up University Avenue, headed westbound and took Pali Highway via Vineyard Boulevard.
By this time police had broken off their road pursuit but continued to monitor the suspects by police helicopter. After reaching Kaneohe the suspects started heading down Kaneohe Bay Drive but did a U-turn and jumped the median and drove toward the North Shore on Kamehameha Highway.
BARRY MARKOWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN
Policemen investigated the Hauula shooting scene.
The suspects approached a construction site near Puhuli Street in Punaluu where a special-duty police officer was directing traffic. Police said the suspects did not slow down and clipped both the officer and the vehicle whose driver he had stopped to talk to.
"He saw the vehicle rapidly approaching," said Putzulu. "The vehicle then clipped the car that he was talking to ... and also clipped the officer, striking him on the thigh area."
"As he was going down, the officer fired five shots at the vehicle."
Police said the suspects continued along Kamehameha while word about the situation had spread via police radios.
"This guy's desperate. Watch out," said one officer from District 2 on the North Shore. More radio chatter among police discussed the danger of "spooking" the driver because of the beaches right next to the highway, which were "filled with people."
Meanwhile, the suspects continued along the highway until they came to a stoplight just past Kawailoa Drive near Haleiwa and decided to steal another car, a black Dodge pickup truck. Police said the suspects were armed with a pipe and cracked the windshield of the truck.
The suspects got into the truck, this time with Molina in the driver's seat while Morales attempted to get into the passenger's seat. Apparently, Molina drove off without him, however, and Morales was arrested a short time later.
Molina continued down Kamehameha Highway, allegedly weaving in and out of traffic, hitting some tourists' rental cars along the way. Police said he got on the H-2 freeway and headed toward Pearl City, eventually taking the Waipahu offramp.
It was along Waipahu Street where the black pickup truck collided head-on with a Toyota Tacoma pickup near Mokuola Street. The impact shoved the truck Molina was driving off the road and into a parking lot railing behind the City of Refuge Christian Church building.
"He tried to evade the cops," said Harold Lyau, who was in his truck when Molina came by. "He just sideswiped us."
"It appeared so fast," he said. "We were blown away."
Witnesses said Molina attempted to flee on foot but was pursued by police and some bystanders. Salvation Army store manager John Green said he heard police say, "Catch him," and tried to help by chasing after Molina as he ran behind the store.
"Right then, he jumped on the fence, and I came to grab him," he said, "but he fell on the ground."
"Basically, all I did was corner him so he wouldn't run on the street," he said.
The driver of the Toyota was injured and taken to St. Francis Medical Center, while the suspect driver was handcuffed and arrested before he was taken to Pali Momi Medical Center with minor injuries, police said.
"I guess these guys are lucky," Pearl City Lt. Keith Lima. "They could have killed a bunch of kids crossing the street. They show no regard for life."
Police said besides the auto theft arrests, both men could face a number of charges, including robbery for using force to steal the Dodge pickup truck, and first-degree attempted murder for clipping the police officer in Punaluu. Police said a search of the stolen Honda Civic did not turn up any weapons or drug paraphernalia.
Though police did not have much information about Morales' background, Putzulu said Molina is known to officers. Molina has three prior convictions, one for third-degree theft and two for driving without a license. He also has 26 prior arrests, 12 of which were said to be for auto theft.
Overall, Putzulu said, officers did a good job keeping the suspects in sight while backing off from the pursuit when the situation called for it.
"I'm very thankful that there weren't more people injured," he said. "Part of the reason for that would be the judgment of the officers not to pursue whenever they thought the conditions didn't warrant it or made it unsafe for the public."
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