HONOLULU (AP) — A man wanted in the killings of three men was apprehended Thursday after a massive search of Hawaii’s Big Island, police said.
Police said they deployed “significant resources” to find Jacob Baker, 36, of Pahoa, Hawaii and described him as “armed and extremely dangerous.”
Authorities said they believe he is involved in the deaths of three men: a 69-year-old man found partially submerged in a cement pond, a 79-year-old man who was found just
400-500 feet ( (122 to 152 meters) away, and a third man, also 69, whose body was found about 19 miles (31 kilometers) away.
The killings took place within two days in a remote and mostly rural district that’s a mix of tropical landscape and barren lava fields.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii man wanted in the killings of three men within two days in a rural area on the Big Island, where tropical landscapes mix with barren lava fields, had been accused of threatening and harassing behavior earlier this month by two women, according to court records.
Jacob Baker, 36, of Pahoa, Hawaii, was described by police as “armed and extremely dangerous,” and Hawaii Police Chief Reed Mahuna said “significant resources and personnel” were being used trying to find him, including help from federal and state authorities.
Authorities said they believe he is involved in the deaths of three men: a 69-year-old man found partially submerged in a cement pond, a 79-year-old man who was found just 400-500 feet (122 to 152 meters) away, and a third man, also 69, whose body was found about 19 miles (31 kilometers) away.
Police on Thursday identified the first man as Robert Shine, who was found Monday, and the third man as John Carse, who was found Tuesday. The name of the 79-year-old man was pending positive identification. Autopsies show Shine was strangled and Carse died from “sharp force trauma,” police said.
Police said they had not identified a motive but were confident Baker was involved in all three homicides. Mahuna did not release information on how police identified Baker as a suspect or what evidence may connect him to the killings. He said investigators had not found any connections among the victims, other than two of them lived near each other.
The slayings happened just days after two women had requested temporary restraining orders against Baker, saying he had threatened and harassed them at a farm; one woman was staying there and the other co-owned it. A judge denied both applications, saying there was not enough proof of harassment provided.
One of the women claimed in her petition that Baker had threatened to kill several women who were staying on the property, and had caused a number of them to move or end their stays. She included a link to a video that allegedly captured at least one threat, but the link had either been removed or was incorrect as of Thursday.
The other woman alleged in her petition that Baker had threatened women and a disabled man, and said he would trespass on the property, take things that didn’t belong to him and say his intention was to squat on the property.
No attorney was listed for Baker, who had 20 other cases in the court record in the past two decades, many of them traffic infractions. There were also a handful of criminal or administrative citations including letting a dog wander, failure to appear in court and simple trespassing.
In most of those cases, Baker represented himself.
On Monday night, police found Shine at a residence partially submerged in a cement pond, Mahuna said. Police did not initially know whether foul play was involved, but preliminary autopsy results showed the death was a homicide, the chief said.
On Tuesday, the 79-year-old man was found dead with apparent blunt force injuries shortly after 12:30 p.m., Mahuna said.
Later Tuesday, at around 10 p.m., police responded to a property about 19 miles (31 kilometers) from the other two killings on a welfare check request and found Carse dead with injuries.
Mahuna said guns were not used.
Stephen Shaffer said Baker had lived on his ex-wife's property in Puna, where they grow 50 kinds of fruit, and Baker climbed coconut trees for her. But after several months, he said, she sought a temporary restraining order against Baker. Shaffer said he didn't know details of their falling out, only that his ex-wife felt threatened by Baker and wanted him to move out.
“He just seemed to me, kind of angry,” said Shaffer, who lives on the same property as his ex but in a separate dwelling. He added that others who lived in the area were concerned about Baker, but Shaffer didn’t elaborate.
Donald Hyatt, who is friends with two of the men killed and Shaffer’s ex-wife, said Baker initially left the cabin he was living in on the property months ago. “He left the place in disarray,” Hyatt said. “Trash inside and out.”
Baker returned recently claiming “squatter’s rights,” and threatened Shaffer's ex, Hyatt said. At that point, Hyatt urged her to seek a restraining order.
Shaffer said police have been by the property numerous times as they hunt for Baker; it's not immediately known where or when Baker was last seen. The island is the largest in the Hawaiian chain at more than 4,000 square miles (10,360 square kilometers).
“There’s a lot of tension in the air here,” Shaffer said. "We’re still in shock, trying to figure this out.”
He added, "We’re being very vigilant. I know there’s a possibility he could come back this way.”
An account on Threads that appeared to belong to Baker had gone silent between mid-December and early May, when he began posting what appeared to be older content from months or even years before. Between May 4 and May 20, he posted more than 40 videos, many with him talking directly to the camera about various topics including harvesting coconuts. None appeared to threaten violence.
Puna, on the eastern side of the island, is a largely rural but fast-growing area known for affordable land. It's also an area where lava flows have wiped out entire communities over the years. The landscape is lush and tropical mixed with barren lava fields.
Officials were asking the public to report any information about Baker and any suspicious activities in the areas of the homicides to police, and urged people not to approach Baker.
Longtime Puna resident Tiffany Edwards Hunt said many in the community are on edge about a “murderer on the loose.”
She said she’s never seen so many police cars in Puna, where there’s typically only about eight officers on duty.
Puna is just 17 miles (27.3 kilometers) from Hilo, east Hawaii’s main town, but with unpaved roads in many parts of Puna, it can feel farther away, she said.
“In that remoteness, you have lawlessness,” Hunt said.
Many also live in poverty, she said, noting that as a teacher, she sees hungry students and those who can’t afford a $15 yearbook.
“We have people who live in blue tarps in a jungle in makeshift homes,” Hunt said. “They create toilets out of ice chests.”
There’s also some people living in communes.
“You have this clash of cultures,” she said. “You have like a '60s peace-loving hippie who came to Hawaii decades ago, either for surfing or to swim with dolphins, intermixing with a local who maybe grew up in chicken-fighting culture and with families who get by doing whatever you can do on an island with limited opportunity.”
____
Collins contributed from Hartford, Connecticut, and Lauer contributed from Philadelphia.
