Maui Police Chief Gary Yabuta will retire from his position to assume a new role as director of the federal High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas initiative for Hawaii.
Yabuta’s announcement Friday came almost five years to the day after he was selected to serve as police chief.
According to a Maui County Police Department news release, Yabuta will retire within the next two months.
Yabuta joined the department March 1, 1983.
As part of Yabuta’s annual evaluation, the Maui Police Commission in March lauded Yabuta for his oversight of department accreditation, community relations through the department’s Town Hall Outreach Program, recruiting and training of officers, and development of a new Kihei police substation.
However, the department has come under intense criticism in recent months for its handling of two high-profile missing-person cases:
» Moreira "Mo" Monsalve, 46, was last seen Jan. 12. Monsalve’s boyfriend Bernard Brown was considered a person of interest in the case after Monsalve’s purse and other items were found in a trash bin near his home. Brown refused to cooperate with police and eventually left Maui, leading to criticism of the department.
» Carly "Charli" Scott disappeared Feb. 9. The 27-year-old mother-to-be was last seen by her boyfriend Steven Capobianco, who reportedly asked Scott to drive him to Keanae, where his truck had stalled. Capobianco told police that Scott followed him back in her own vehicle after he fixed the truck but that he eventually lost track of her.
Scott’s torched vehicle was found three days later in Peahi; clothing and other personal items were found a day later.
On March 7, Maui police reclassified the Scott case as a murder.
In April, Capobianco was arrested and charged with first-degree burglary in an unrelated case.
While Scott’s family has publicly supported the department’s handling of the Scott investigation, friends and family of Monsalve joined community members in criticizing the department for not responding to public questions and concerns during the initial phases of both investigations.
