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Kona Man Charged After Armed Robbery and Shooting at Officer

by Thunda

27-year-old Dyllan Paulo-Leslie of Kailua-Kona has been charged with a slew of offenses, including attempted murder, reckless endangering, theft, and multiple firearms offenses following an incident involving armed robbery, a car crash, and shooting at an officer in Kailua-Kona on Thursday night, November 10, 2022.   

At 3:45 p.m. Saturday, November 13, 2022, after conferring with the County Prosecutor’s Office, Paulo-Leslie was charged with:

  • first-degree attempted murder
  • first-degree robbery
  • reckless endangering
  • 4 counts of ownership or possession of a firearm prohibited
  • 3 counts of first-degree terroristic threatening
  • 2 counts each of carrying or use of firearm in the commission of a separate felony
  • place to keep pistol or revolver
  • carrying or possession of a loaded firearm on a public highway
  • place to keep ammunition
  • manufacturing, purchasing, or obtaining firearm parts to assemble a firearm having no serial number
  • second-degree theft
  • first-degree criminal property damage
  • driving without a valid license
  • inattention to driving
  • second-degree promoting a dangerous drug 

He was also charged for outstanding offenses, including unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, first-degree theft, and discharge of sureties from unrelated incidents. His total bail for both the Thursday incident and outstanding charges is set at $1,553,250.

The charges against Paulo-Leslie stem from an incident reported shortly after 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 10, when Kona patrol officers responded to a report of an active armed robbery at a business in the 73-5000 block of Kauhola Street in the Kaloko Light Industrial Park in Kailua-Kona. The suspect, described as a man armed with a firearm wearing dark clothing and a face covering, entered the establishment and brandished the firearm. He removed an undisclosed amount of currency from the service counter area as patrons and employees fled the area.

The man then fled the scene in a gray lifted pick-up truck with a female passenger, later identified as 34-year-old Brittany Johnson of Holualoa. As the vehicle fled the area it was involved in a traffic collision with another vehicle at the intersection of Route 190 and Hina Lani Street, rendering both vehicles inoperable.

As the first officer arrived at the scene of the crash, he walked towards the vehicles to check on the occupants, when he was shot at by the male suspect. The bullet narrowly missed the officer and struck the rear driver’s side tire of the patrol vehicle. As the officer radioed for assistance, Paulo-Leslie and Johnson fled the area on foot.

Responding patrol units located the pair a short time later and they were taken into custody without further incident.

The officer was uninjured. The driver of the other vehicle, a 51-year-old female from Kailua-Kona, did not require medical attention at the scene.

Hawai‘i Police Department’s Area II Criminal Investigation Section detectives responded to the scenes and are continuing the investigation. A search warrant was later served on Paulo-Leslie’s vehicle where a firearm, ammunition, drugs, and items removed from the robbery were recovered. 

Paulo-Leslie remains in police custody pending his initial court appearance scheduled for Monday, November 14, 2022, in Kona District Court.

After conferring with prosecutors, Johnson was released pending investigation. 

Police ask anyone with information on this incident to call the police department’s non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311, or Detective Sheldon Nakamoto of the Area II Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 326-4646 ext. 228, or via email at Sheldon.nakamoto@hawaiicounty.gov.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at (808) 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.

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