A Hilo grand jury has indicted a 32-year-old Puna man on 19 felony counts, including two counts of second-degree sexual assault, after police say they recovered five firearms from his home during a domestic violence investigation. Joseph Kekedi Jr. is accused of raping a 27-year-old woman and now sits in custody on $472,000 bail while awaiting his next court date in November.
According to the Big Island Now, the alleged offenses took place at a residence on Pāhoa-Kapoho Road in Puna over an eight-day span between August 21 and August 28. Officer Rodney DeLima of the Puna Patrol handled the initial response and arrest on August 28, while Detective Jenny Lee of the Hawaiʻi Police Department's Area I Juvenile Aid Section led the subsequent felony investigation, the outlet reports.
Police officers responded to a domestic incident involving a firearm on August 28, according to police reports cited by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Officers executed a residential search warrant and recovered five firearms in total: a Titan Tiger .38 caliber revolver, a DPMS AR-15 style rifle, a Sturm Ruger .223 caliber rifle, a Remington 12-gauge shotgun, and a Winchester 12-gauge shotgun.
A 19-Count Indictment Spanning Violence and Gun Law Violations
The grand jury's indictment against Kekedi includes two counts of second-degree sexual assault, three counts of domestic abuse, two counts of domestic abuse aggravated by strangulation, and a count of reckless endangering, per the Star-Advertiser. He also faces nine additional firearm offenses, including possessing an automatic firearm.
Among the firearm-related counts, the specific violations break down into six counts of permit to acquire, four counts of mandatory registration, and one count of ownership prohibited, the same account notes. Hawaiʻi state law requires a permit to acquire from county police with a minimum 14-day waiting period, and it restricts handgun permits to a single transaction valid for 10 days, while long-gun permits remain valid for up to a year, according to NRA-ILA. That framework helps explain why so many of the counts against Kekedi are tied to individual permits and registrations rather than a single blanket weapons charge.
Judge Denies Release, Holds Bail at Nearly Half a Million Dollars
Kekedi made his initial court appearance on August 31 in Hilo District Court, and the grand jury indictment allowed prosecutors to bypass a district court preliminary hearing and proceed directly to circuit court, per Big Island Now's account of the state's procedural rules. Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto denied Kekedi's request for supervised release and maintained his bail at $472,000, according to the Star-Advertiser. Kekedi has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on November 10.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Haʻaheo Kahoʻohalahala is handling the case on behalf of Hawaiʻi County Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen, per the same Big Island Now report. Second-degree sexual assault is a class B felony carrying a maximum 10-year prison term, the Star-Advertiser reports, while Class C felony offenses in the indictment — including ownership prohibited and felony abuse of a family or household member — carry a maximum statutory penalty of five years upon conviction, according to Big Island Now.
Same Prosecutor, Same Unit Behind Recent Puna Convictions
Kahoʻohalahala and the Area I Juvenile Aid Section previously secured a 20-year prison sentence in Hilo Circuit Court against a Puna martial arts coach convicted of first-degree sexual assault, Hoodline previously reported. That case similarly involved an extended investigation by the same juvenile aid unit now leading the Kekedi probe.
Hawaiʻi County authorities refer domestic violence and sexual assault survivors to the YWCA Hawaiʻi Island 24-hour crisis hotline at (808) 935-0677, and they ask that anonymous tips regarding criminal cases be directed to Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300, per Big Island Now. Kekedi's case remains pending as it heads toward the November hearing in circuit court.
