Puna Fatal Shooting (Update)

Update…..4:45pm

Hawaiʻi Island Police have identified the woman shot and killed in an officer-involved shooting that occurred on Friday, (October 12), off Beach Road in the Hawaiian Beaches area of the Puna District. She is identified as 26-year-old Ashley Elisna Grammer of Hilo.

At about 1 a.m., police were checking on a vehicle, later determined to be stolen, when the driver suddenly reversed backward and began continuously ramming the police SUV with such force it initially knocked one officer out of the vehicle. Three officers fired shots, resulting in the death of the woman.  The officers have 7-years, 3-years, and under 1-year of service with the department.

As is standard practice in any police-involved shooting, the Police Department’s Area I Criminal Investigation Section is conducting a criminal investigation into the shooting and the Office of Professional Standards is conducting an administrative investigation. An autopsy to determine the exact cause of death is pending.

Police ask anyone with any information about this incident to call the Police Departments non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311 or contact Detective William Brown at (808) 961-2384 or via email at William.brown@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.

UPDATE:

Jason Balai  

Juanita Grammer  

Media Release

A Hawaiian Beaches couple is in police custody following an incident involving an attempted vehicle theft in Hawaiian Beaches.

Hawaiʻi Island Police responded to a report of a motor vehicle theft-in-progress in the area at about 9:40 a.m., (October 12).

Police investigating the incident learned that the male suspect tried to drive off with an unoccupied truck. The owner of the vehicle observed the male entering the truck and attempted to stop him from leaving the area.

While the victim was trying to stop the suspect, another truck being operated by a female suspect struck the back end of the victim’s vehicle. The male suspect and female suspect then allegedly threatened the victim and another witness before they both fled the area.

Police conducted a search of the immediate area and were able to apprehend the two suspects shortly after that. They are identified as Jason Balai a 53-year-old and 29-year-old Juanita Grammer.

Balai was charged with unauthorized entry to a motor vehicle, theft, unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, attempted robbery in the second degree and is being held in lieu of $55,000.00 bail. Juanita Grammer was charged with two counts of reckless endangering, two counts of terroristic threatening, criminal property damage, being an accomplice to the robbery in the second degree and is being held in lieu of $72,000.00 bail pending their initial court appearance, Monday, (October 15).

Hawaii Police officers early Friday shot and killed a woman in Puna after she allegedly used a stolen vehicle to continuously ram into a police SUV.

The name of the deceased woman is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. She is 26 years old and at the time of the incident was being sought on two $50,000 bench warrants, according to police.

The incident occurred about 1 a.m. Friday when Puna patrol officers conducting routine beat checks on Beach Road in the area known as Honolulu landing came upon a 1998 Toyota 4-runner that was parked within a narrow dirt trail near the ocean, police said.

As officers were attempting to exit their vehicle, the 4-Runner suddenly reversed at a high rate of speed ramming the front end of the police Chevy Tahoe and knocking one officer out of the vehicle. It then began moving back and forth creating force to violently ram the police vehicle numerous times, police said.

The suspect’s continuing course of action, police said, placed two officers who were then on foot and in close proximity in “great danger of being hit or run over,” police said. As the incident continued, three officers fired at and into the vehicle, the 26-year-old woman was struck and later died.

A 22-year-old woman who was a passenger in the 4-Runner was not injured in the incident, police said.

The suspect vehicle displayed fraudulent license plates and further investigation determined the vehicle had been reported stolen on Sunday. According to police, it had been taken from the parking lot of a business establishment in Hilo.

The three officers who fired on the vehicle have seven, three and less than one year of service with the department. None of the officers suffered physical injuries in the incident.

As is standard practice in any police-involved shooting, the Hawaii Police Department’s Area I Criminal Investigation Section is conducting a criminal investigation and the Office of Professional Standards is conducting an administrative investigation. The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave at this time.

Police ask anyone who witnessed the incident to contact Detective William Brown at 961-2384.