Man shot early Saturday in apparent love triangle

A 32-year-old Hilo man is facing an attempted second-degree murder charge after allegedly shooting another man early Saturday in what appears to be a love triangle.

Dustin Kapena Bell is also charged with first-degree assault and making a false report to police. He’s being held in lieu of $276,000 bail pending his initial court appearance this afternoon in Hilo District Court.

Police say the incident occurred in the early morning hours on Sugar Mill Road in Pepeekeo. Police found the victim, a 31-year-old man, lying in the bushes by the roadside. He was taken by ambulance to Hilo Medican Center, where he remains hospitalized in stable condition following surgery.

During investigation, detectives found that a vehicle reported stolen by Bell earlier in the morning was related to the shooting.

It was determined that Bell’s girlfriend had been driving the vehicle with the victim in the passenger seat, and had parked at the bottom of Sugar Mill Road. Bell found the vehicle and shot the man, police said. The woman then drove away from the scene and was involved in a single-vehicle traffic crash which rendered the vehicle inoperable, according to police.

Fearing for his life, the man got out of the car and fled into the bushes to hide from the Bell, police said. Bell then reportedly picked up his girlfriend from the accident scene and left, reporting the vehicle as stolen upon returning home.

Search warrants were executed on Bell’s home, his truck and the vehicle Bell’s girlfriend was allegedly driving.

Potential witnesses are asked to call the police non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311 or Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.