Police Arrest Man Following Pursuit and Domestic Violence Incident in Captain Cook

Hawai‘i Island police have arrested a 28-year-old Captain Cook man in connection with a domestic violence incident that led to a pursuit and single-vehicle crash on Thursday, July 10, 2025.

Shortly before 4:30 p.m., Kona patrol officers responded to a residence in the 82-6100 block of Napo‘opo‘o Road in Captain Cook after Central Dispatch received 911 text messages from a 35-year-old woman reporting that she needed help. She stated that her boyfriend, later identified as Weston Duarte, was high, refusing to return her vehicle and car keys, threatening to kill her, and also had an outstanding warrant.

The woman reported that she and Duarte were inside her gray Mazda 3 sedan parked in the driveway of the residence. She went on to state Duarte was armed, using methamphetamine, and had physically assaulted her.

At 5:10 p.m., as officers arrived at the scene, they observed the Mazda sedan speeding down the driveway. The vehicle, which was registered to the victim, continued southbound on Napo‘opo‘o Road. Officers observed a male driver matching Duarte’s description and the woman crying in the back seat.

Officers pursued the vehicle but lost sight of it. A short time later, officers saw the same vehicle traveling north on Highway 11 in the southbound lane at a high rate of speed. The vehicle swerved back into the northbound lane and continued out of view.

At 6:06 p.m., officers located the vehicle after it had crashed near the 109-mile marker on Highway 11. Duarte was found in the roadway and placed under arrest. Medics from the Hawai‘i Fire Department responded to the scene. Duarte was transported to the Kona Community Hospital and later transfered to Queen’s Medical Center on O‘ahu for further treatment. The woman was found in the back seat and transported to Kona Community Hospital, where remains in stable condition.

Through further investigation, police determined Duarte was the driver during the earlier pursuit.

Duarte was arrested for the following offenses:

• Operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant
• Driving without a valid driver’s license
• Abuse of a family or household member
• Second-degree reckless endangering
• Resisting an order to stop
• Reckless driving
• Second-degree terroristic threatening
• No motor vehicle insurance policy

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact Detective Jeremiah Hull at (808) 430-8634 or via email at jeremiah.hull@hawaiicounty.gov. Citizens may also call the police department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.

Those who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300. Tipsters may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers does not record calls or subscribe to caller ID.