The former Maryland police chief who gained national attention by leading public pleas for the surrender of the Washington, D.C., sniper made one of his first arrests as a Honolulu police officer last week.

Charles Moose, a former police chief in Montgomery County, Md., and Portland, Ore., arrested a man in Kalihi after responding to a call of a domestic fight on Jan. 24.

The man was arrested on suspicion of abuse of a family member, and was released on $1,000 bail.

The case is set for preliminary hearing Feb. 7.

Moose, who graduated from the police academy on Nov. 9, is in the field training officer program, which pairs "new" officers with a veteran officer. He is based in the Kalihi police district.

Moose did not return a message left at his home seeking comment Tuesday.

Moose, 52, became known as the primary law enforcement spokesman during the investigation and pursuit of the two men accused of 10 murders during a shooting spree in the Washington, D.C., area in 2002.

He has not been a patrol officer in more than 25 years.

John Allen Muhammad and accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo have been convicted in Virginia. Malvo faces life in prison, and Muhammad was given a death sentence.

A native of North Carolina, Moose graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1975 and holds master's and doctorate degrees from Portland State University, according to a biography posted on a company Web site that represents Moose for speaking engagements.

He also attended the FBI National Academy and the FBI National Executive Institute.

He is also the author of "Three Weeks in October: The Manhunt for the Serial Sniper," his biography and recount of the Washington, D.C., sniper investigation. The book was released in 2003.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.