Hawaiian man charged with assaulting a sheriff’s deputy with a deadly weapon
Keoni K. Kalanui-Manantan, 31, of Hawaii, faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, assault on a peace officer with a less than lethal object; removing or taking a weapon from a peace officer; resisting a public officer, aggravated; and providing false information to a peace officer following an incident near the Honey Lake Rest Area Sunday.
According to a statement from the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy patrolling the Janesville area observed a vehicle on the eastbound shoulder of Lakecrest Drive behind the Honey Lake Rest Area about 6:33 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20.
The deputy noticed that there was no license plate affixed to the rear of the vehicle and what appeared to be numbers written with a marker where the license plate should be.
The deputy stopped behind the vehicle and Kalanui-Manantan exited the passenger side. The deputy told Kalanui-Manantan he was there to check on his well-being, and Kalanui-Manantan told the deputy he had run out of gas.
The deputy inquired about the license and registration requirements, and Kalanui-Manantan immediately became irate and told the deputy that he had “no jurisdiction” over him.
Kalanui-Manantan picked up a rock and made a motion as if he was going to throw it at the deputy.
The deputy retreated to a position of cover and Kalanui-Manantan opened the passenger side door of his vehicle and retrieved a sword inside a sheath. He walked toward the deputy in an aggressive manner, holding the sword out in front of him.
The deputy retreated while ordering Kalanui-Manantan to drop the weapon. Kalanui-Manantan picked up several rocks and threw them at the deputy who was struck two or three times as he continued to yell obscenities and advance on the deputy.
The deputy continued to give orders for Kalanui-Manantan to drop his weapon and warned him he would use lethal force, but Kalanui-Manantan ignored the deputy’s commands. The deputy deployed his taser, striking him in the upper body. Kalanui-Manantan fell to the ground but was able to remove the taser prongs as the taser had little effect on him. Once on the ground, Kalanui-Manantan removed the sword from the sheath. The deputy dropped his taser in the roadway and transitioned to his duty pistol continuing to give warnings that lethal force would be used if the man did not drop his weapon.
The deputy continued to retreat and yelled for bystanders to clear out of the area. Kalanui-Manantan retrieved the deputy’s taser (with no active cartridges) from the roadway. The deputy elected not to use lethal force due to his concern of public safety and number of bystanders in the area.
Then the deputy advanced on Kalanui-Manantan and deployed pepper spray, striking him in the upper body and facial areas. Kalanui-Manantan retreated, jumped a barbed wire fence and began running northbound through fields toward Honey Lake.
Several deputies responded to the scene as did officers from the California Highway Patrol, a CHP helicopter and a K9 from the Susanville Police Department.
Kalanui-Manantan continued running, armed with the sword and deputy’s taser. Officers set up a perimeter around Kalanui-Manantan, and they located him after he had dropped both the sword and taser. Kalanui-Manantan began running away again, but after a lengthy foot pursuit, deputies apprehended and arrested him without any further incident.
Kalanui-Manantan provided several false names, but he was later identified. He has an extensive criminal history in Hawaii and was booked into the Lassen County Jail on multiple charges.
The Lassen County Sheriff’s Office thanks the California Highway Patrol and the Susanville Police Department for their response and assistance in this case.
