KAILUA-KONA — The last time Rachel Velez saw her brother, Thomas Ballesteros Jr., was two weeks ago in Ocean View trying to hitchhike to Kona.
She stopped and they talked for a bit alongside Highway 11.
“I told him I loved him, he said ‘I love you’ back and I drove off,” Velez said.
On Saturday, Ballesteros, 42, was pronounced dead after a shooting on Painted Church Road in Honaunau. The incident left two others injured, including the suspected shooter, 49-year-old Brian Lee Smith of Honaunau.
Smith and the third individual were taken to Kona Community Hospital for gunshot injuries and later flown to The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu for further treatment. The Hawaii Police Department reported Monday that Smith was taken into custody by the Honolulu Police Department Criminal Investigation Division just after 6 p.m. Sunday.
Smith faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder. Maj. Robert Wagner said police have 48 hours from the time of arrest to charge Smith.
Smith has no history of violent crimes, according to court documents. The last charges the 49-year-old faced were traffic-related misdemeanors in 2010.
Although Smith remains hospitalized on Oahu, Wagner expects he will be released and returned to Hawaii Island soon.
The third individual involved in the shooting, Wagner added, is expected to be hospitalized for a while.
On Monday, Velez was still trying to understand her brother’s death. She said Ballesteros was homeless for a couple of years and had run-ins with the law in the past, but nothing violent, mostly traffic and contempt of court offenses. According to eCourt Kokua, the 42-year-old also previously was charged with theft and fourth-degree criminal property damage. Those charges were dismissed without prejudice.
Ballesteros was not known to cause trouble, she added.
“He was going through a lot of stuff in his life and he didn’t want to impose on people,” Velez said. “He could have nothing but he’d give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.”
Velez said Ballesteros stuck mostly to the South Kona area. He picked fruit and would sell it across the street from ChoiceMart in Captain Cook.
“We do know he had a drug problem,” Velez said. “When he wasn’t on drugs, he was picking fruit.”
Velez added Ballesteros had been seen on Painted Church Road in the past. On Monday, she said she learned that he was seen picking lychee in the area of Honaunau Road prior to the shooting Saturday.
“Everyone said he was harmless,” Velez said. “He didn’t really bother anybody. People liked him.”
Velez said she will remember her brother as always being happy.
“He was artistic, musically inclined,” she said. “He had so much talent and he chose to live his life the way he did.”
An autopsy will be conducted this week to determine the exact cause of death.
Ballesteros is survived by a son and daughter. The family is planning a celebration of his life at Waiohinu Park in Ka‘u. The date is yet to be determined.
Email Tiffany DeMasters at tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com.
