Suspect pleads guilty in 2019 Pacific Palisades standoff
Nov. 25—A 54-year-old man has pleaded guilty to multiple charges in connection with a 15-hour standoff in Pacific Palisades where he fired a shotgun in the direction of police officers in September 2019.
A 54-year-old man has pleaded guilty to multiple charges in connection with a 15-hour standoff in Pacific Palisades where he fired a shotgun in the direction of police officers in September 2019.
In a jury trial, Wayman Kaua pleaded guilty Nov. 18 to attempted first-degree assault, carrying or use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony, unlawful ownership or possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person convicted of certain crimes, possession of a prohibited firearm and two counts of first-degree terroristic threatening.
Kaua pleaded guilty to the offenses under a plea agreement that he serve 20 years in prison, the Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney said. His sentencing is scheduled for March.
The standoff began on the morning of Sept. 12, 2019, when police responded to a report of gunshots coming from a home on Apoepoe Street in Pacific Palisades. When officers arrived, they saw Kaua with a firearm in front of his ex-girlfriend's residence. During the trial, Deputy Public Defender Earl Aquino told jurors that Kaua was distraught over his relationship with the woman. Kaua pointed a shotgun at his chin, asking officers to shoot him.
Police then ordered Kaua to drop the firearm, but he did not comply. Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bell said Kaua, at some point, aimed his shotgun at a responding officer's patrol car, prompting the officer to open fire.
Kaua barricaded himself in the home after he was struck twice in the back and once in the shoulder. Bell said Kaua fired from the home and struck a police vehicle.
The 15-hour standoff ended hours later after police deployed nonlethal gas into the home, resulting in Kaua surrendering to police. He was treated for nonlife-threatening gunshot injuries and gas exposure.
More than 20 years ago, Kaua was involved in another dramatic standoff with police.
In October 1998, Kaua fired multiple shots at officers with an assault rifle when police arrived at a Waimano Home Road home. The standoff ended 22 hours later after a police officer shot Kaua in the face as he held his wife at gunpoint.
In that case Kaua was convicted on 12 felony counts including attempted first-degree assault and attempted manslaughter.
In 1990, Kaua barricaded himself in an Ewa Beach home with his then-pregnant girlfriend and her infant son when police attempted to serve him with a warrant for a probation violation. After three hours the standoff ended peacefully.
