Police Hold News Conference On Arrest of Jacob Daniel Baker (May 28, 2026)

Añadido: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Thank you. Thank you all for joining us today. At approximately 28 p.m. in the Kaimu Cove, Kaimu Kalapana area, Hawaii Police Department officers received information that the possible suspect had been observed hiding within a grassy area in a field. Witnesses reported observing the male party ducking down as passing traffic approached.

[00:00:26]Investigators subsequently obtained video surveillance footage that cooporated these observations.

[00:00:33]The surveillance footage also captured the suspect fleeing from the initial property onto an adjacent property.

[00:00:40]Officers and detectives responded to the area and conducted a search, ultimately locating the suspect concealed within a small cave on the neighboring property.

[00:00:51]The suspect identified as Jacob Baker, male 36, was taken into custody without incident. The suspect, Jacob Baker, at this time has been arrested for the following offenses: murder in the second degree. Burglary in the first degree, unauthorized control of prop of a propelled vehicle in the first degree, theft in the first degree, criminal property damage in the fourth degree, theft in the fourth degree, and unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle in the first degree.

[00:01:28]First and foremost, I want to thank our community. It was a citizen that saw something, said something, and helped bring this manhunt to a safe conclusion.

[00:01:39]That partnership between law enforcement and the people we serve is what keeps Hawaii Island safe. I also want to express my deepest appreciation to our local, state, and federal partners whose coordination and support were critical throughout this operation. We are especially grateful to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement, the United States Marshall Service, the Honolulu Hawaii and Kauaii Police Departments, the State of Hawaii Department of Defense, Homeland Security Investigations, and DOARE, and all other agencies that assisted or stood ready with assets should we need them. Their willingness to respond, to share resources, and to stand shoulderto-shoulder with us reflects the strength of our law enforcement ohana across this state.

[00:02:31]To the men and women of the Hawaii Police Department, mahalo. Uh you worked long hours under intense pressure in every in very challenging terrain and difficult conditions. I am impressed every single day with your dedication and your courage. and today is no exception.

[00:02:50]Most importantly, our thoughts are with the victims and their families. They are the ones who have suffered the greatest harm. Behind every investigation, every search, and every arrest are real people whose lives have been forever changed.

[00:03:05]We will continue to do everything that we can to ensure that we support them and seek justice on their behalf.

[00:03:14]We need to also ensure that their voices are heard as this case moves through the criminal justice system.

[00:03:20]Our goal from the beginning was clear to locate and arrest this suspect as quickly as possible and to do it with keeping our officers and our community safe. Today, because of the combined efforts of our partners, the vigilance of our residents, and the hard work of our officers, we are able to accomplish that mission without further harm. The investigation will continue and we will work closely with the prosecutors as this case moves forward. For now, I want the people of Hawaii Island to know that we hear your concerns. Your safety is our top priority and we will continue to work tirelessly to protect this community.

[00:04:00]Mahalui to everyone who played a role in bringing this incident to a safe resolution. Like to turn it over to the mayor.

[00:04:10]Thank you, Chief. It is true this event was very unsettling. Um, I couldn't sleep last night, me and many others.

[00:04:17]And that's why I extend my deepest gratitude to the officers, investigators, and all supporting agencies who have been working around the clock to find this suspect. This was truly all hands on deck. And I also like to thank the public for staying alert and for sharing tips that aided in this investigation.

[00:04:35]to our island, ohana. Please be reassured that we will do everything in our power to protect our residents and to ensure that every person in our community feels safe. I know this tragedy deeply impacted our community and we ask that you keep the family and friends of the victims in your thoughts and in your prayers. Today represents an important step forward towards justice and healing for everybody. We are so thankful again for the continued commitment and persistence shown by our investigators and we respect the ongoing investigation as the privacy of those affected also matter as well. The chief will open it up for questions. Mahalo.

[00:05:20]>> Thank you.

[00:05:21]>> Take questions.

[00:05:22]>> Thank you so much, Mayor. Thank you.

[00:05:23]Thank you for the support. Really appreciate it. Thank you, >> Chief. First, we're going to take questions in the room. Do any media outlets that are in the room have questions? We'll start with Ali Duplo from Hawaii News Now and go down the line >> for the right >> for the unauthorized entry and control of the vehicle. Did the suspect steal a car to get where he was today?

[00:05:50]>> Uh he stole a car early on in this um in this um incident. Uh, I do not know that. I do not believe he had the car today.

[00:05:59]>> Yeah, he did not have the car today.

[00:06:01]>> Do you folks know how he got here today?

[00:06:03]>> We don't.

[00:06:04]>> Okay.

[00:06:07]>> Next up, we have Nikki Shenfeld with K2.

[00:06:12]>> Chief, it seems like the area where he was located was very close to the where the third victim was also located. Was it on the victim's property nearby? Do you believe he was there since Tuesday or might have returned?

[00:06:27]>> Um, how close was it?

[00:06:29]>> It's close proximity, but we don't believe that he was >> So, it was close proximity, but we don't believe he was there.

[00:06:36]>> Yeah.

[00:06:37]>> Next up, we have Taylor Claus from Civil B.

[00:06:43]>> Chief, um, are you able to share how you connected the three deaths to Baker now?

[00:06:49]>> No, we we still can't share that.

[00:06:52]Okay, at this time I will open it up to questions in our chat on our Zoom.

[00:07:00]Leila Fujimori from Honolulu Star Advertiser is asking, "Will you add first-degree murder as a charge?"

[00:07:09]>> I don't know that we we would do that at this time.

[00:07:13]>> Uh we have another question.

[00:07:16]Will you be releasing body cam footage of arrest and the surveillance footage that was used to help arrest the suspect? That is Brendan with Island News.

[00:07:27]>> As far as the surveillance, we would not be releasing any of that uh at this time. That's part of the uh investigation. Um I will have to look into what body cam footage can be made available, if any are available.

[00:07:39]Michelle Broer from Michelle Broer Van Djk with Hawaii Public Radio asks, "Would you be able to tell us if this was a Hawaii Police Department operation solely or if the partners played a role in the suspect's capture?"

[00:07:54]>> I I can't tell you exactly what uh who who was there at the scene, but I can tell you for sure that all of the partners that I mentioned played a huge role in this operation. whether it was, you know, a Hawaii Police Department officer that actually put the cuffs on or it was somebody else. Um, but I can tell you that it was an incredible joint effort.

[00:08:15]>> John Bernett from Hawaii Tribune Herald asks, "There was a murder in Hilo that your department said wasn't connected at this time with the three Puna murders.

[00:08:24]Are you still certain and how do you know?"

[00:08:27]So we are we are fairly confident and the reason we we are confident um is that the mo the the uh manner of uh the manner of death is not consistent with the other three murders.

[00:08:42]>> Jennifer Keller from the Associated Press asks, "Can you please clarify where he was found? Hiding in a small cave on what property is this the property where John Parse lived?

[00:08:57]So the only thing that I can say is that it in this particular area, you know, property lines and boundaries are not are not um are not readily apparent. So I couldn't give an exact um an exact answer to that question other than to say that it was a small cave in the uh Kaimu Kalapana area.

[00:09:18]Now before I move questions, I wanted to make sure that I have answered all uh first round of questions from media that are on our Zoom.

[00:09:29]Uh Tiffany De Masters from Big Island Now said, "How many law enforcement officers were on scene during the arrest?"

[00:09:36]>> Yeah, I don't have that number, but that's something that we can provide.

[00:09:41]>> Okay, going to round two of followup questions. Laya Fujimori Honolulu Star Advertiser Laya. Just a heads up that this question was asked and answered in our media uh news conference yesterday.

[00:09:56]Was the Hawaii Police Department aware of the allegations in two TR uh petitions filed on May 22?

[00:10:05]>> We were not.

[00:10:07]>> Okay. Do we have any more questions in the room?

[00:10:11]>> Ali, did you folks recover any weapons or paraphernalia on the suspect.

[00:10:19]We, you know, heard from word of mouth that he may have taken drugs at the time of the murders. Can you folks confirm explain?

[00:10:29]>> Yeah, I can't get into it uh exactly what was uh on the suspect's person uh when he was taken into custody, but I can ask, were there any weapons?

[00:10:39]>> So, not to our knowledge, no weapons.

[00:10:42]>> Okay, any other questions? Okay, we have Nikki Shenfeld again from K12.

[00:10:49]>> There was an arrest earlier on Old Road.

[00:10:53]Was that in relation to Jake's case?

[00:10:56]>> Uh, I'm not aware that it was. I'm not aware.

[00:11:00]>> Okay, we have an additional follow-up question from Taylor Coslov Civil.

[00:11:06]>> Besides the TRO, people reported that they contacted police threatening behavior before. Um, were you aware of this and So, the uh I the last contact that I believe we had with the suspect in this case was uh several months ago. Um I do not have any um information as to what that contact was.

[00:11:29]>> Okay. Brendan from Island News is asking, "We were told arresting officers were forced to use tasers. Can you confirm that?"

[00:11:37]>> Uh I I'm not sure.

[00:11:40]We don't have that information. We can get that though.

[00:11:44]Okay. Uh, any other questions at this time?

[00:11:49]Going once. Going twice in the room.

[00:11:53]>> Uh, okay. Hold on. We have one more on our Zoom. Um, Tiffany De Masters from Big Island Now is asking, "Was there a weapon recovered in the stolen vehicle?"

[00:12:05]>> Not to my knowledge.

[00:12:06]>> Jennifer Keller from Associated Press is asking, "Is he cooperating or speaking to investigators?" Uh that would be it's too early to tell. He was just taken into custody so he's uh likely still being processed.

[00:12:20]>> Uh Alilo Hawaii News Now.

[00:12:22]>> Yeah. You mentioned earlier that the victims had uh injuries consistent with each other. Can you elaborate?

[00:12:29]>> No.

[00:12:30]>> Okay.

[00:12:32]>> Okay. One more question. Uh we have two more questions in the room. Last call for questions in the Zoom and then we'll wrap it up.

[00:12:42]Were the vehicles related to the victims in any way?

[00:12:47]>> The stolen vehicle?

[00:12:51]>> No, not to the victims.

[00:12:53]>> And Taylor Coslov civil be um the witnesses who saw Baker in the field.

[00:12:59]Were they related to the Red Road Ohana group that had decided to do its own patrol in the area?

[00:13:03]>> I don't know.

[00:13:06]>> Okay, we have one more question on Zoom.

[00:13:09]Uh, Leila Fujimori, Honolulu Star Advertiser, can you say cause of death for all three once again?

[00:13:17]>> Uh, I believe I believe the cause of for all three is uh blunt force trauma.

[00:13:24]Oh, >> okay. They were all deemed homicides.

[00:13:30]Uh, we don't have we don't have the uh the cause of death for all of them, but they were all deemed homicides.

[00:13:35]And last question of today's news conference is from Tiffany De Masters.

[00:13:40]Did Baker have help hiding?

[00:13:43]>> We don't we're not aware of any at this time.

[00:13:47]>> Okay.

[00:13:48]All righty. Uh Norin, can you please identify what media outlet you're with, please?

[00:13:56]Okay. Norin C from CNN is asking what connected the three killings to each other.

[00:14:02]>> We can't say at this time. Okay, without further questions, we're going to wrap it up.

[00:14:10]Yes, everybody's good. Okay, we want to thank all the participants and media outlets for joining us today and also we thank them for all their coverage during this search for this suspect and appreciate uh them assisting us with our efforts. Aloha.