LIHUE — Two men who were arrested Tuesday after allegedly threatening people with a gun at a Kapaa school have been identified as Travis Shimomura, 34, of Kapaa, and Kylie Lanning, 23, of Anahola, according to a Kauai Police Department press release Wednesday.
Shimomura allegedly approached a vehicle occupied by a 26-year-old Kapaa woman and her 51-year-old male passenger outside St. Catherine School and threatened both people with a gun before driving off with Lanning in a white Toyota Tacoma down Kawaihau Road, police said.
Police were called to respond shortly before 2 p.m. and initiated a search for the suspects with assistance from a scent-tracking canine, King, and Air 1, a helicopter used by Kauai County agencies for search-and-rescue operations.
The men were spotted near Lihi Park, then were pursued by police up Olohena Road before abandoning their vehicle at Waipouli Road, police said. A nearby resident said the Toyota truck Shimomura was driving broke down when it hit a pothole in the street.
According to witness reports compiled by KPD officers, Shimomura was seen running through a property on Waipouli Road, then into a nearby pasture. Upon entering the property, police said they found a pistol on the ground in a bag with drug paraphernalia.
KPD officers continued their pursuit on foot, and with the assistance of King they were able to quickly track and locate both men, eventually placing them under arrest without incident.
Shimomura and Lanning were both arrested on suspicion of the following charges: terroristic threatening in the first degree, keeping pistols or revolvers in places illegal to have such guns, carrying and use of a firearm in the commission of a separate felony, and resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle in the first degree. Shimomura was also arrested for prohibited ownership or posession of a firearm.
Shimomura was placed in police cellblock with bail set at $135,000. He was also arrested Tuesday on a separate bench warrant for violating terms and conditions of his parole, with no option of bail, and has since been transferred to Kauai Community Correctional Center while he awaits his court date.
Lanning remains in police cellblock with bail set at $125,000. He was also arrested Tuesday on a separate, $5,000 bench warrant for violating his conditions of bail.
St. Catherine School officials placed the school under a lockdown Tuesday until the suspects were apprehended.
The police investigation is ongoing.
•••
Caleb Loehrer, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0441 or cloehrer@thegardenisland.com.
