Molokai man arrested after allegedly stealing vehicle, assaulting police in Kahului area
COURTESY MAUI POLICE DEPARTMENT
Jonathan Pico
A Molokai man has been charged after allegedly stealing a vehicle, crashing it into another vehicle and assaulting police in and around the Kahului area.
The Maui Police Department said in a news release today that Jonathan Pico, 29, from Kaunakakai on Molokai, has been arrested and charged with second-degree robbery, unauthorized control of a propelled motor vehicle and first-degree assault on a police officer.
The incident, according to MPD, began Tuesday morning at around 4 a.m. while Pico had reportedly been walking along the edge of Maui Veterans Highway, MPD reported. A driver from traveling along the highway reportedly struck the backpack Pico was wearing with his passenger-side mirror near near milepost 6.
The driver, who was only identified as a 53-year-old man from Kihei, immediately stopped and exited his vehicle, a white 2004 Dodge Caravan, after the collision. Pico allegedly said he was not injured and that it was his backpack that had been hit.
Pico then allegedly punched the driver in the face, knocking him to the ground, entered his Caravan and fled north on the highway.
Around 4:24 a.m., Wailuku officers then responded to a traffic collision at the intersection of Maui Veterans Highway and Mehameha Loop that involved a white Dodge Caravan colliding into a silver 2016 Nissan Rogue SUV head-on. The Caravan then struck a traffic signal and ended up in a nearby embankment, MPD said.
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Police later located and attempted to detain Pico near the intersection of Hansen Road and Maui Veterans Highway, but Pico allegedly refused to comply with an officer’s directions, became physically combative and hit the officer in the face, according to MPD.
The officer then deployed his Taser, hitting Pico, but Pico reportedly was able to remove the Taser’s probes. Pico allegedly tried to evade arrest by running into traffic on the highway, where he was then hit by a gray 2019 Toyota Tacoma.
Pico was transported to the Maui Memorial Medical Center Emergency Room for treatment.
He was arrested today and is in police custody. His bail has been set at $7,000, MPD said.
