A 49-year-old Keaʻau man is facing second-degree murder charges after a late-night shooting inside the sprawling Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision left another man dead. Bryant Scott Guevarra told police he had been attacked and shot 41-year-old Jose Adame Romero, but police later charged him with murder and weapons charges; the murder charge carries the possibility of life in prison.
According to the Hawaiʻi Police Department, officers responded to the 15-1500 block of Makuʻu Drive after Guevarra called police to report the shooting. Police found Romero suffering from multiple apparent gunshot wounds, according to Hawaii News Now.
Officers began lifesaving measures on scene, but Hawaiʻi Fire Department personnel determined Romero had succumbed to his injuries. He was pronounced deceased at 10:44 p.m., roughly 26 minutes after the shooting was reported, per the same account. Guevarra was arrested at the scene as detectives with HPD's Area I Criminal Investigation Section began their investigation.
Charges Filed After Prosecutorial Review
Guevarra was held at the East Hawaiʻi Detention Facility while detectives continued building their case, and police charged him on Monday afternoon, the department said in a follow-up statement. He now faces second-degree murder, carrying or use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony, place to keep ammunition, and reckless endangering, according to the article.
His bail was set at $1,823,000, and he is scheduled to make his initial court appearance Thursday in Hilo District Court, the report notes. The investigation remains ongoing, and it is not yet publicly known what relationship, if any, existed between Guevarra and Romero, or what evidence led prosecutors to pursue charges despite Guevarra's self-defense claim.
What Hawaiʻi's Weapons Statutes Mean For The Case
The second-degree murder charge alone exposes Guevarra to a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole under Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes § 706-656, with the minimum term of confinement set by the Hawaiʻi Paroling Authority. Guevarra also faces a separate firearms charge alongside the underlying counts.
The place to keep ammunition charge is another separate count in the case.
A Sprawling Subdivision With Its Own Rules Of The Road
Hawaiian Paradise Park, where the shooting happened, is no small neighborhood. The subdivision covers roughly 15.2 square miles and contains more than 8,800 one-acre residential lots, making it one of the largest private subdivisions in the country.
The subdivision has about 137 miles of roadways. That kind of semi-rural sprawl shapes how emergency response and community oversight function across the district.
A Separate Hilo Shooting
Hoodline reported on a Hilo shooting in August that was handled by the same HPD Area I Criminal Investigation Section now leading the Guevarra case.
How To Reach Investigators
Detectives are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact Detective Michael Matsumura of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 961-2386 or by email at [email protected]. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous can also call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300, which does not record calls or subscribe to caller ID and offers a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest.
