A former “extremely dangerous” fugitive suspected of threatening a Hawaii island judge is scheduled for a preliminary hearing today after being charged with 39 offenses, including possession of illegal firearms and an improvised explosive device.
Ronald Joseph Kong, 33, of Puna remained at the Hawaii Community Correctional Center on Wednesday, unable to post $367,000 bail.
He was charged Tuesday with misdemeanor abuse of a family or household member, second-degree assault, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, first-degree terroristic threatening, first-degree burglary and three counts of second-degree theft. He was also charged with possession of an explosive device, 19 firearm or ammunition offenses and 11 drug-related offenses.
Kong was not charged in connection with the alleged threat against the judge, but remains under investigation in that case and a separate burglary case, police said. Police have opened a first-degree terroristic threatening investigation into the alleged threat.
Kong was arrested Sunday after being on the run since Jan. 11, when police issued a bulletin asking the public for help in capturing him.
The charges stem from a burglary last year, an assault on Kong’s girlfriend of five years and the recovery of a stolen vehicle that Kong was seen driving, police said.
On June 28, Kong broke into a 68-year-old Mountain View man’s home and took keys from the home to steal the man’s 2014 Toyota Tacoma pickup, 2015 Sym-brand moped and a money belt with $7,700 in cash, according to a police report filed in Hilo District Court.
At around 9 a.m. on Jan. 4, Kong kicked his girlfriend in the ribs after she refused to leave with him in a pickup, according to the report.
He then dragged her to the pickup and slammed the truck door on her ribs, causing further pain, the documents said.
Kong drove her to Panaewa Park, where he pulled out a black .22-caliber handgun and told her that if she left him, he would shoot her, the report said. The woman jumped out and ran away. She went to the hospital, where a doctor found she had a fractured rib, documents said.
Then on Jan. 8, he broke into a 38-year-old man’s home on the same street as the first burglary and stole $2,000 worth of knives and swords from the home, the report said.
Police almost captured Kong on Jan. 12 in Kurtis-
town when an officer pulled over the stolen Tacoma pickup from the June 28 burglary, but Kong fled on foot into a forested area, the report said.
That day, a woman told police she believed the truck was booby-trapped, Honolulu police said.
A Honolulu police bomb squad, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted the Hawaii County SWAT team in searching the truck for explosives. An improvised explosive device was found inside the truck and rendered safe by bomb technicians.
Police also found a .22-caliber pistol, a .22-caliber rifle with a silencer attached and a 12-gauge shotgun inside the truck. All of the weapons were loaded, police said. Methamphetamine and stolen items from both burglaries were also found, according to the report.
Police said Kong may also face federal charges in connection with the guns and explosives found.
Police arrested Kong at about 11:45 p.m. Sunday at an Ainaloa home.