Puna shooting victim had long criminal past

By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — A 20-year-old Puna man who committed suicide Thursday night in a confrontation with police, had been arrested and charged 34 times since he turned 18, according to Big Island police.

Lt. Derek Pacheco said Shaun "Mika" Thompson had been charged with nine felonies, and 25 misdemeanors and petty misdemeanors. The 'Ainaloa resident died of two gunshot wounds Thursday night in the car he and another man allegedly had carjacked.

Police later classified Thompson's death as a suicide after an autopsy at Hilo Medical Center. He suffered gunshot wounds to the head and the face.

Pacheco said Thompson's charges included first-degree robbery and theft, assault, first-degree burglary, promoting a dangerous drug, and three counts of terroristic threatening.

His record includes a conviction for terroristic threatening, Pacheco said. He did not disclose the outcome of the other charges.

Thompson's 19-year-old friend, who was shot by a policeman during the confrontation, remained at the hospital in satisfactory condition yesterday. He has not been arrested or charged for his alleged role in the incident that began when he and Thompson reportedly took control of a car driven by a 64-year-old woman.

A police spokesman yesterday said no further statements on the incident were expected until both a criminal investigation and an internal affairs case have been finished.

Neither the driver nor her passenger, who police now say was a 65-year-old man, have been identified by police. Police had previously said the passenger was 55 years old.

The two men forced their way into the car and demanded to be driven to Hawaiian Paradise Park, police said.

Police are continuing their criminal investigation along with a separate internal affairs investigation into the shooting. The officer who shot the 19-year-old has not been identified beyond that he is a veteran of 11 years. He is on paid leave while the investigation continues.