Woman charged for incident in which police fired weapons

TEARON PACHECO-FERNANDEZ
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CORRECTION 12-3-19 5:28 p.m.: A previous version of this story stated Pacheco-Fernandez was facing charges of attempted murder and other more serious charges, based on information provided by police on a warrant for her arrest. Those are not among the final charges and bail is also significantly lower than originally stated.

A 24-year-old Volcano woman who allegedly drove toward two police officers last week, spurring the officers to discharge their weapons in a busy supermarket parking lot the day before Thanksgiving, was arrested and is expected to be charged today in connection with the incident.

Police Lt. Rio Amon-Wilkins of the Hilo Criminal Investigations Section said Tearon Pacheco-Fernandez is charged with two counts of first-degree criminal property damage, first-degree terroristic threatening, resisting an order to stop and driving without a license.

First-degree criminal property damage, the most serious charge, is a Class B felony that carries a potential 10-year prison term upon conviction.

The incident occurred Nov. 27 in the parking lot of the Puainako KTA Super Stores market in Hilo at the Puna end of the parking lot near the Jack in the Box restaurant. Pacheco-Fernandez allegedly was behind the wheel of a stolen Toyota Tacoma pickup truck and managed to flee the parking lot. The truck sideswiped a Toyota sedan driven by a 71-year-old Hilo man.

No one was injured in the midday incident during what is likely the busiest grocery shopping day of the year.

Bail is set at $32,000 for the incident, Amon-Wilkins said.

Police previously said they wanted to question Pacheco-Fernandez regarding a Nov. 14 incident in which the truck allegedly rammed into a police vehicle on Kaumana Drive, then fled.

Amon-Wilkins said the truck has not been recovered by police.

Pacheco-Fernandez is in custody at Hawaii Community in lieu of $50,000 on unrelated auto theft and burglary charges.

See Thursday’s Tribune-Herald for an updated version of this story.

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.