Search ongoing for Puna man wanted in shotgun slaying

Police are still seeking a second-degree murder suspect they describe as “armed and dangerous.”

Dwayne “CJ” Cory Wallace Jr., a 26-year-old Puna man, is wanted for the Tuesday afternoon shooting of 26-year-old Peter Cyrus Grammer of Mountain View.

Wallace is described as 6-foot-5-inches tall, 210 pounds, with brown hair balding on top and brown eyes. The public is advised against approaching Wallace, police said.

Wallace was last seen shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday driving a primer-gray Toyota two-door sedan with Hawaii license plate No. HLN 184, according to police.

“We’re got a couple of teams out looking for him in the Puna area, following up on leads, some intel that we got on possible locations,” said Lt. Rio Amon-Wilkins of the Hilo Criminal Investigations Section.

Amon-Wilkins said the shooting, according to witnesses, was a single shotgun blast, and took place “in the middle of North Kulani Road, maybe 50, 60 yards in from Highway 11.”

“They had some type of verbal altercation leading up to it. We’re still interviewing witnesses, though,” Amon-Wilkins said. “We’re still trying to locate family members and (additional) witnesses to see what the altercation was about.”

An autopsy performed this morning determined Grammar died of a gunshot wound to the chest, and the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy ruled the manner of death is homicide, police said.

Both men have criminal records, according to court records.

Wallace has convictions for 15 offenses dating back to 2013, including a felony domestic abuse conviction in 2015. He’s also been convicted of misdemeanor theft and resisting arrest, as well as two probation violations.

Grammer has 18 convictions dating back to 2014, none of which were felonies. He has been convicted of misdemeanor assault and two counts of unauthorized entry to a motor vehicle, plus violating probation and a deferred plea.

Police remind the public that harboring and assisting a fugitive is a felony offense, and Amon-Wilkins hopes somebody will come forward with the information needed for officers to apprehend Wallace.

“We’ve got guys out looking for him,” he said. “Obviously, we’d like to catch him before he harms himself or anybody else. The sooner we get him into custody, the safer it will be for everyone.”

Anyone who may have information about this incident or the location of Wallace is asked to call the police nonemergency line at 935-3311 or contact Detective Blaine Morishita at 961-2385 or Blaine.Morishita@hawaiicounty.gov.

Those who prefer to remain anonymity may call Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300.