A man who allegedly shot an elementary school building in ‘Aiea last month faces up to 15 years in federal prison.
According to U.S. District Court records, Honolulu resident Joseph Chester Brown, 51, allegedly fired a gun during a road rage incident shortly after noon on Monday, September 21 near ‘Aiea Elementary School.
Honolulu Police officers learned that two men were seen arguing just outside the elementary school campus, shortly before a gunshot was heard coming from the direction of their altercation.
Later, a fresh bullet hole was found in the wall of a nearby school building. School was in session at the time of the shot.
A subsequent police investigation identified Brown as the alleged shooter. The other man in the altercation told officers that he had been standing next to his truck when Brown drove up to him and pointed a firearm at him.
Brown was arrested on Oct. 22. During his arrest, he was reportedly in possession of a loaded firearm with the serial number filed off.
Brown has a criminal history in Hawai‘i: in 1999, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for first-degree robbery, and was released in 2018. Consequently, Brown, as a convicted felon, is not permitted to own a firearm.
However, Brown was not charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, nor with possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, both of which have sentences of up to 10 years in prison. Instead, he was charged in U.S. District Court with unlawful transport of ammunition, a charge carrying a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, and a fine of up to $250,000.
According to an HPD report, the ammunition used in the altercation necessarily must have been transported to the state. Convicted felons are prohibited by federal law from any interstate transportation of ammunition, hence the more severe charge.
Brown pled not guilty to the charge on Friday, but remains in the custody of U.S. Marshals. Federal prosecutors have requested that Brown be held without bail; a hearing on that matter is scheduled for Oct. 28, and a trial is set for Dec. 22.
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