Maui suspect taunted off-duty officers and fired shots at them, court told
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAILUKU — Two Maui police officers testified yesterday that a man boldly taunted them and fired two shots at them while they were having a barbecue at a Kihei park last week.
On the night of May 12, 10 officers and their friends were celebrating the transfer of a police colleague when the suspect, Ernest Chavira Jr. of Kihei, and another man walked through the pavilion and taunted the group, calling them "pigs" and "cops," according to the Wailuku District Court testimony of police Sgt. Derrick Lopez and Sgt. Lester Wong of the Kihei Patrol Division.
Ernest Chavira Jr.
"We were just having a family-type barbecue. We didn't expect this to happen," Lopez said.
Lopez said that on the day before the park incident, he had a brief encounter with Chavira at a restaurant. While Lopez wasn't in uniform at the barbecue, the suspect nevertheless recognized him, the officer said.
The two men walked away, still taunting and gesturing at the group. But then they returned and Chavira had pulled a hood over his head, the officers testified.
Lopez said he had a feeling something bad was going to happen, and he told his colleagues to get their guns.
The suspect allegedly reached behind his back and pulled out a gun.
"I yelled, 'He's got a weapon!'" Lopez said.
Later identified as a .44-caliber Smith & Wesson, the gun "sounded like a cannon going off," he said.
The off-duty officers ran to try to cut the men off from escaping and that's when the gunman fired again, striking an officer's pickup truck, according to the testimony. Another officer fired back, but the pair were able to escape into a residential area.
Chavira and his companion were arrested the next day.
Also testifying at yesterday's preliminary hearing was Chavira's 19-year-old roommate, who said the suspect told him the day before the shooting that vice officers were hanging around Kalama Park and he vowed "to do what he had to do."
Justin Cote also said he had seen Chavira in his room cleaning a gun that appeared to be the .44-caliber Smith & Wesson recovered by police.
Maui police detective William Gannon said the gun was recovered with help from Chavira's companion at the park — a visitor from Pico Rivera, Calif., who was arrested with Chavira but later released without being charged.
Police charged Chavira, a former security guard at the Kihei 7-Eleven, with two counts of first-degree attempted murder and two firearm charges. Prosecutors yesterday added a charge of second-degree attempted murder.
The charge of first-degree attempted murder carries a penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole. It can be filed if a suspect attempts to kill a law enforcement officer or if there is more than one victim.
Judge Reinette Cooper raised Chavira's bail from $530,000 to $1 million. Arraignment has been scheduled for June 1 in Circuit Court.
Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
