Man who lost wife, son in Lahaina blaze now under investigation for shooting murder of a Maui surfer

Sekonaia “Kona” Takafua, who lost his 39-year-old wife and 7-year-old son in the 2023 Lahaina fire, now is under investigation for the shooting murder of a competitive surfer, according to court documents and Maui Police Commission reports.

Shawn Lewis was found with a gunshot wound on Sept. 15 near the intersection of Honoapiʻilani Highway and Waiolu Place in Waikapū, and later was pronounced dead at Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Four days after the shooting, Maui police arrested Takafua for an unrelated firearms offense. But in Second Circuit Court documents, Takafua was named as being under investigation for Lewis’ death.

Maui police investigators have not released any information about a possible motive for the shooting or if the two men knew each other. Takafua was a Lahaina resident when he lost multiple family members in the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire.

Takafua’s family members said he was at work when the fire took place and could not reach his family due to a gas station explosion near the family home, according to Alaska news station KTUU. His wife’s parents, Faʻaso Tone and Maluifonua Tone, were also killed in the fire. All four were reportedly found in a burned-out car near their home.

Lewis, who was known as “Bigfoot” by the local surfing community because of his partially amputated left leg, lived in Honokōwai at the time of the fire, according to the property manager, but had moved to Wailuku a few months ago.

In 2021, Lewis represented Hawaiʻi in the International Surfing Association’s World Para Surfing Championships.

A report given to Maui Police Commission members on Oct. 23 said police dispatch was notified at 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 15 about a vehicle accident by an automated iPhone crash detection alert from the area. Dispatch also received information the male driver of the vehicle was having convulsions.

“Initially, it was called in as a single motor vehicle accident,” Maui Police Department Assistant Chief Reid Pursley told the police commissioners. “Upon arrival, officers found that the driver was a 42-year-old male who had sustained a gunshot wound. Apparently, it caused him to lose control of the vehicle and crash.”

Responding police found a red minivan on the shoulder of Honoapiʻilani Highway where a bystander was pressing a shirt on the neck of the male driver to control bleeding. The victim was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead about an hour and a half later on Sept. 16.

Police recovered two shell casings at the crash site. Investigators also obtained surveillance footage of the incident from the guard shack of Maui Tropical Plantation which showed a blue 2019 Hyundai Sonata that was identified as the vehicle driven by the suspected shooter.

According to police commission reports, the suspect vehicle was recovered and impounded on Sept. 19 and “further investigation identified a suspect.” 

A court document stated Takafua was arrested four days after the shooting for unrelated firearms offenses, which stemmed from an April 4 incident during which Maui police were called to check on a grey BMW sedan blocking an area along Kaae Road in Wailuku. When police arrived, officers found Takafua and another man asleep in the vehicle.

Because officers observed marijuana and other drug paraphernalia in plain view in the sedan, the vehicle was seized and towed to the Kīhei police station. Takafua, who had initially been arrested for auto theft, was released after police confirmed the vehicle was not stolen.

Upon searching the vehicle, police found a loaded .45 caliber handgun with no serial number, described as a “ghost gun,” along with more .45 caliber ammunition found in a black backpack, and two 9mm bullets in the front seat, according to court documents.

When the guns and ammunition were found, Maui police attempted to recontact Takafua and his passenger, Deeshann Tabion McCormack, but court documents stated their whereabouts were “currently unknown.”

On Sept. 20, police rearrested Takafua and prosecutors later charged him with five firearms offenses, including carrying a loaded firearm on a public highway, a place to keep ammunition, a place to keep a firearm, receivership of a firearm with no serial number, and ownership of an automatic firearm with prohibited detachable ammunition magazines.

Circuit Court documents filed by Maui County prosecutors and Takafua’s defense attorney indicate that while he had been charged with the April firearms offenses, he also was being formally investigated for homicide charges involving the shooting death of Lewis.

Prosecutors said Takafua was “unaware that police were able to determine that he was the murderer 4 days after the drive-by shooting.”

While arguing for the court to continue to hold Takafua on high bail in the firearms case, Deputy Prosecutor Ronson Ibarra stated that Takafua “is now fully aware that he will likely be facing a murder charge in the near future which shows that there is a serious risk he will flee to avoid justice.”

Takafua’s defense attorney, Michael Sweetwater, also confirmed the murder charge in court documents filed Nov. 4 that stated that when his client went to court in the firearms case, it was “unbeknownst” to him he was the “suspect in a murder investigation.”

Sweetwater said in court documents that “. . . absent the state’s bald assertion of a murder investigation, Defendant has no knowledge of any murder.”

Sweetwater also said Takafua was currently unemployed after having worked “two full-time jobs in security.”

Police set bail in the firearms case at $1 million but a judge reduced that to $100,000 on Nov. 21. Takafua remains in custody. A jury trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 25.

CORRECTION: Shooting victim Shawn Lewis was living in Honokōwai at the time of the fire and in Wailuku at the time of the shooting. A previous version of the story incorrectly stated that he was living on Front Street at the time of the fire based on information provided to the writer. Rod Antone apologizes for the error.

*Rod Antone is a contributing freelance writer for the Hawai’i Journalism Initiative.