Murder suspect, son of Honolulu police officers, did not receive special treatment, Chief Rade Vanic says

There is no indication that a 19-year-old murder suspect, who is the son and stepson of Honolulu police officers, received special treatment after he allegedly shot and killed an 18-year-old man on Round Top Drive during a failed robbery March 18, interim Police Chief Rade Vanic told the Honolulu Police Commission on Wednesday.

In response to a question from commission member Richard Parry about what happens when the child of a police officer becomes a murder suspect, Vanic said that Nainoa Damon, 19, was not living with his mother and stepfather at the time of the shooting.

“What do you normally do there? What happens to the police officer? Do they get put on any special duty or do they just go about their job as normal? Can you tell us?” Parry asked.

Vanic said Damon was not in regular contact with his mother, a Honolulu Police Department sergeant in Wahiawa. His stepfather is an HPD corporal in Kalihi.

“Right now our investigation does not indicate at this time that they were involved in any way or interfered with the investigation in any way,” Vanic said. “Of course that is still part of our ongoing investigation, however, they are not on any type of special assignment. They continue their regular assignments.”

Police previously said that once his mother learned Damon was wanted in connection with the Tantalus slaying, she reached out to him and helped persuade him to turn himself in. Damon was arrested March 19 after walking into the Wahiawa police station with his defense attorney.

He is charged with second- degree murder, robbery, terroristic threatening and several firearm offenses. His bail is set at $1 million.

On March 18, Damon allegedly shot 18-year-old Ha‘aheo Kolona, a senior at Saint Louis School, at a Round Top Drive lookout on Tantalus.

Damon allegedly approached a group of people at the lookout, pointed a gun at the back of an 18-year-old man’s head and demanded his gold chain, according to police. Kolona reportedly pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Damon, who then shot Kolona in the abdomen, authorities said.

While in custody at the Oahu Community Correctional Center on the murder charge, Damon was arrested Friday for allegedly firing into a vehicle in Kunia in January 2021.

He is accused in that incident of firing into a vehicle occupied by a 22-year-old man and two male friends. The 22-year-old was wounded but the other two men were not hurt.

During Wednesday’s Police Commission meeting, Vanic briefed members on the three fatal shootings involving underage suspects during a six-day stretch in March. He said investigators are still working to determine where the firearms used in the killings came from and if they were illegal or properly registered.

Police have not yet found the gun Damon allegedly used in the Round Top Drive shooting.

“That is part of our investigation — where the firearm is, who it belonged to, who is it registered to, how did they get it … . Unfortunately in this case, the firearm that was used was not recovered,” he said.

Vanic noted that police are still looking for a second man in connection with the Tantalus shooting.

Damon and the second man fled the Tantalus area toward Nehoa Street in a white 1998 Toyota Camry that reportedly had a “Bad Boy” sticker on the driver’s- side windshield.

Parry also asked about several criminal charges against Damon that were dismissed in the past 16 months.

“Do you know anything about that? It sounded as though it was an exceptional situation and I wondered if you had any color around that,” Parry asked.

On Jan. 13, 2021, Damon was arrested and accused of reckless driving and racing, and cited for speeding in excess of 81 miles per hour. The charges were eventually dismissed with prejudice, meaning prosecutors could not refile them. On March 2, 2021, he was cited for driving without a valid license and not having car insurance. Both citations were dismissed with prejudice.

On Oct. 13, he was stopped for exceeding the speed limit by more than 30 mph and driving more than 81 mph. Both of those citations were also dismissed with prejudice.

Vanic said it’s not up to HPD to decide the outcome of cases once charges are filed or citations are issued. Rather, it’s up to “the adjudicating body or prosecutors to determine whether or not they take that forward for prosecution, or if it goes forward to prosecution, whether those cases are dismissed.”

“I can tell you that all of the cases we had probable cause for and that he was chargeable for this (murder) case, he was arrested and charged for all of those,” Vanic said.