Cachola

The Maui News

Nathaniel Cachola, (19) of Kahului was charged Tuesday with attempted murder in the first degree. His bail has been set at $500,000 as he remains in custody, according to a Maui Police Department (MPD) press release.

According to the MPD, on Monday, March 25, at approximately 3:12 a.m., officers responded to the parking lot of the Wailuku Elementary School Park regarding a terroristic threat in progress.

Upon arrival, a 21-year-old female was located with a gunshot wound and reported that she and her boyfriend, a 19-year-old male, both known to frequent the Wailuku area, were asleep in their vehicle when they were approached by two known males, Cachola and an unidentified 20-year-old male, also of Kahului.

Reportedly, the males asked the couple for narcotics, which the couple stated they did not have; the males then left the area and went into the park to consume alcohol before returning to the vehicle and asked for a lighter, according to charging documents.

A verbal exchange ensued before the unidentified 20-year-old male brandished a firearm, at which point his companion, Cachola, took the firearm and attempted to climb into the vehicle. The 19-year-old victim attempted to wrestle the firearm from Cachola, who struck the victim on the top of his head with the weapon and then proceeded to point the firearm at the female’s head. The offender then stepped away from the vehicle while firing a shot, which struck the female. The two offenders then fled the area on foot.

The victim was transported via medics to the Maui Memorial Medical Center for treatment; no other injuries were reported.

At 1:18 p.m. investigators located Cachola at his Kahului residence and placed him under arrest at 1:33 p.m. for attempted murder in the first degree.

At 8 p.m. the unidentified 20-year-old male turned himself in at the Wailuku Police Station without incident, where he was arrested for Terroristic Threatening in the First Degree and later was released pending further investigation.

The investigation remains ongoing; no further information is available at this time.