Suspect charged in Puna standoff

Police have charged a 49-year-old Pahoa man after a brief, barricaded standoff with officers Friday in lower Puna.

Keith Kaapana Cummings refused to leave a house in Hawaiian Beaches after officers went there to serve him with a protective order. Instead, he allegedly poured a flammable liquid in the house and threatened to ignite it.

No one else was in the house at the time.

Police evacuated nearby homes and the Special Response Team, the department’s SWAT unit, responded.

SRT negotiated with Cummings, who surrendered without incident. On Saturday, he was charged with second-degree terroristic threatening and first-degree reckless endangering.

Cummings’ bail was set at $2,500 and his initial court appearance was scheduled for today.

A fire inspector checked the home and found it safe.