Suspect in Pali killings captured
By Peter Boylan and David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writers
After almost two weeks on the run, 33-year-old Kevin "Pancho" Gonsalves, the third man indicted by the O'ahu grand jury in the double-murder shooting at the Pali Municipal Golf Course Jan. 7, was arrested yesterday.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Gonsalves was arrested without incident at 1:20 p.m. yesterday at a house in Nanakuli, where police found him hiding under a bed.
Kevin "Pancho" Gonsalves was taken into custody yesterday after a two-week manhunt. Police tracked him down in Nanakuli.
Three others were in the home with Gonsalves at the time of his arrest, a 41-year-old man, his 37-year-old wife, and their 16-year-old daughter. The three were taken to HPD's Kapolei substation for questioning, but they were not arrested, police said.
Officers from the Honolulu Police Specialized Services Division, Crime Reduction Unit, and homicide detectives participated in yesterday's arrest.
"He didn't have a chance," said Tenari Maafala, one of the arresting officers.
Maafala said police acted on a collection of tips received from area residents as well as other intelligence.
Members of HPD's elite Criminal Intelligence Unit contributed manpower and information to the 13-day manhunt.
On Jan. 7, Lepo Utu Taliese, 44, was shot several times in the chest and stomach. He died at The Queen's Medical Center. Romilius Corpuz, 40, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at Castle Medical Center.
A third man, Tinoimalu Sao, 42, was shot in the head and remained in critical condition yesterday at Queen's.
Although critically wounded, Taliese and Sao managed to identify their assailants to police. Both said they had been shot by Rodney Joseph Jr. and Ethan Motta, according to a police affidavit.
On Jan. 13, an O'ahu grand jury indicted Gonsalves along with Joseph, 35, and Motta, 34, on charges of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting. If convicted, the three would face mandatory life terms without parole.
Bail was set at $1 million for each of the three men. Joseph and Motta are being held at the O'ahu Community Correctional Center.
Gonsalves has 14 convictions, 12 for misdemeanors, including contempt of court and two for shoplifting and harassment, according to the Hawai'i Criminal Justice Data Center.
In April 1993, Gonsalves' wife at the time, Ernesta Gonsalves, was granted a temporary restraining order after saying Gonsalves beat her and threatened to kill her.
Yesterday, Joseph and Motta pleaded not guilty in Circuit Court to murder and gun charges.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Acting Circuit Judge Gerald Kibe set a tentative trial for the week of March 22 for Joseph and Motta, although the trial will almost certainly be pushed back as the case progresses. Gonsalves likely will be ordered to stand trial with the other two when he is arraigned later.
Kevin "Pancho" Gonsalves is escorted to the HPD cellblock after his arrest in Nanakuli. Gonsalves is a suspect in the Jan. 7 shooting at a Pali golf course that left two men dead and a third critically injured.
Kibe assigned the case to Circuit Judge Michael Town.
Motta and Joseph entered their pleas via a cable television hookup between Circuit Court and O'ahu Community Correctional Center in Kalihi.
The shootings were the result of a turf war between groups vying to provide security for O'ahu's illegal gambling houses, said a police source with knowledge of the investigation.
There are six illegal gaming houses operating on O'ahu, police said.
Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com. Reach David Waite at 525-8030 or dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com.
