Gunshot kills detainee after scuffle on Big Isle

HILO » A Big Isle prisoner died after being shot in the head as he tried to escape from a jail van in downtown Hilo yesterday afternoon, authorities said.

Thane K. Leialoha, 28, of Hilo, was shot in the head by a prison guard about 2:09 p.m. on Haili Street near the intersection of Keawe Street as Leialoha was being returned to the jail after an appearance in court, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at 5:56 p.m. at Hilo Medical Center, according to police.

Leialoha's girlfriend, Sabrina Kauai, 35, of Hilo, said he was shot in the back of the head at close range.

She said a friend told her that Leialoha escaped from the van and was chased by the guard, who Leialoha then punched and knocked down. The guard sat up and shot Leialoha, Kauai said.

Another woman at the shooting, who gave her name only as Megan, asked, "Why shoot him point-blank in the head?" She said Leialoha lay on the street in convulsions before being taken to the hospital.

Kauai said friends told her police interviewed three witnesses at the scene, two women and a man.

The guard was questioned by police as part of their investigation.

Police cordoned off the Haili Street area and redirected traffic for three hours during the investigation.

Police and the state Department of Public Safety issued statements about the shooting, but neither commented further.

Kauai said she is eight months pregnant with Leialoha's child, their first. Both Kauai and Leialoha have three children each from prior relationships, she said.

Kauai started feeling contractions on Sunday and Leialoha tried to drive her to the hospital but had car trouble on the way, she said.

Returning home, they were stopped by police who recognized Leialoha, she said.

He was wanted for parole violation and three traffic offenses, she said.

When police arrested him, they also searched his car, although neither she nor Leialoha gave permission, according to Kauai. Police found a syringe in the car and arrested her for drug paraphernalia, but later released her without charges, she said.

During these events, the contractions of her pregnancy stopped, she added.

Court records show Leialoha was indicted in 1997 for second-degree robbery, assault and theft.

He pleaded no contest to the charges in 1998, but wasn't sentenced until 2001, when he received 10 years in prison. He was later released on parole.

Leialoha's father, Thomas "Tiny" Leialoha, said his son had finished high school and had a landscaping job with his brother, but had been laid off from the job.

Asked if his son used drugs, the father said, "I think every teenager do drugs."

Kauai said Leialoha was a talented singer with a band called Suden Rush, which played modern Hawaiian music.

Leialoha could also chant in the kahiko, or old, style and danced hula, she said.

"He had a beautiful voice. He had a very big heart," Kauai said.

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