The victim of an early morning kidnapping and assault was lying on the kitchen floor, handcuffed, his ankles bound with zip ties and a rag with duct tape partially covering his mouth, according to court documents filed by police.
Police also say one of the alleged kidnappers, 35-year-old Joshua Ikaika Vierra of Volcano, was kneeling atop the victim, identified in court documents as 44-year-old Wren Kealoha Evans. Police said in a statement Friday Evans resides on Oahu. But according to the police booking log, Evans — who was wanted on a contempt of court warrant for which he was later arrested — lives in Hilo.
Police say Evans’ 17-year-old son was the other kidnapper. His name was not released because he was a minor and the statement said he is in a juvenile facility on Oahu.
Evans told police, documents state, that he went to the residence on Pa Alii Street after being lured there by his son. Evans told police, documents state, that the other alleged assailant — whom Evans didn’t know — busted into the house with a “big weapon drawn,” clad in camouflage from head to toe and wearing a black mask that exposed only his eyes. The man identified himself as a federal agent, told Evans he was going to arrest him, forced him to the floor and put a boot on his neck, according to documents.
Evans told officers he asked the man to identify himself and verify that he was actually law enforcement, but he didn’t do so, documents state. According to police, Evans said the man had some sort of patch that said “federal agent” and what appeared to Evans to be an M-16 rifle and a pistol.
Police say the assault took place over several hours, but at some point, Evans placed a call to 911. According to documents, Evans tried to run but was stopped from leaving and the assault resumed.
According to documents, Evans had visible injuries to his nose and head and complained of pain to his legs and wrist. Documents state Vierra told responding paramedics he struck Evans on his left leg with a baseball bat and kicked him in the ribs.
When police attempted to interview Vierra, he asked for a lawyer after being read his rights, documents state.
Evans was treated for his injuries and released at Hilo Medical Center and was later arrested and charged with two counts of contempt of court.
Police say Hilo Criminal Investigations Section detectives executed a search warrant on the Volcano home and seized two handguns and a rife with no serial numbers — known as “ghost guns” — and a silencer. They also found a Velcro patch that read “Fugitive Recovery Agent,” according to documents.
Vierra was charged with kidnapping, first-degree terroristic threatening, impersonating a law-enforcement officer, third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, two counts of second-degree assault and 16 firearms-related offenses.
The house, as it turns out, according to county tax records, was owned by Evans’ biological father, who died in September, and the late man’s wife — who was granted a divorce from Evans’ father in 2020 but remained the legal guardian of Evans’ 17-year-old son.
The woman filed a TRO petition against Evans in January this year on behalf of the minor, as well as two TRO petitions in April and October 2021, but all were dismissed without prejudice — meaning they could be re-filed — because process servers couldn’t find Evans to serve the court summons.
In the January petition, the woman said she and her late ex-husband cared for the 17-year-old since he was about a year old and had legal guardianship of him.
The woman claimed in her petition that Evans, who has prior felony convictions for theft and forgery, grabbed the minor by his throat and shoved him up against a wall in March 2021, that he threatened the teen with a baseball bat, among other allegations.
At Vierra’s initial court appearance on Monday, Hilo District Judge Jeffrey Hawk maintained Vierra’s bail at $250,750 and ordered him to return Wednesday for a preliminary hearing.
Vierra remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
