Investigators today were at the Kaaawa home of the man who was arrested this afternoon in connection to today’s alleged attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Florida.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, is in custody after the Secret Service spotted a rifle scope pointed toward the course where the former president was golfing, according to multiple media outlets. Trump was not hurt in the incident.
The Secret Service fired at the attempted shooter after spotting his weapon, the Tribune News Service reported. The man ran, leaving behind two backpacks in the bushes of the golf course. A witness took photographs of his black Nissan, including his license plate, which led investigators to the suspect who was later identified by multiple news outlets as Routh of Hawaii.
Public records show that Routh, who is registered to vote in North Carolina, also has lived in Kaaawa and worked in Hawaii since 2018. Tribune reported that Routh voted this spring in the North Carolina Democratic primary.
Property records show that his Hawaii home in Kaaawa is owned by Kathleen Shaffer, who according to public records shares the address with Routh and has shared other addresses with him in the past.
Neighbors said a woman had been at the home earlier, but left before investigators and media arrived.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser saw at least three investigators walk up to the side door and front window of the Kamehameha Highway home this afternoon, but it did not appear that anyone was there and they left.
Law enforcement sources told the Star-Advertiser that Routh has an active Hawaii driver’s license with the same Kamehameha Highway address. They also said he has no arrest or criminal record nor a registered firearm in Hawaii.
His Social Security number was issued in North Carolina, the sources said.
The Star-Advertiser was unable to reach Routh or Shaffer, but spoke to neighbors near their home.
“That’s crazy, super crazy,” after hearing about the incident, said Routh’s neighbor David Stant said.
He said Routh was “real mellow, low-key … quiet.”
RELATED: Trump safe after alleged assassination attempt; Suspect with Hawaii ties arrested
The owner of Camp Box Honolulu based out of Kaaawa, Routh was known for building storage units and tiny houses.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser quoted him in 2019 when he pledged to build tiny homes for homeless people to live in Kalaeloa, as part of the kauhale concept promoted by then-Lt. Gov. Josh Green and Nani Medeiros, who was then executive director of the nonprofit building group HomeAid Hawaii.
Routh reached out to HomeAid to support the effort, the 2019 story said. “As a community, if we can all come together and put our resources together, it would be extremely beneficial,” he said.
Later, after being elected governor, Green appointed Medeiros as his administration’s chief housing officer and she left the nonprofit. Her successor, current HomeAid Hawaii Executive Director Kimo Carvalho, said he conducted an assessment of the nonprofit’s partners shortly after coming onboard in 2023 and cut ties with Routh.
“He was involved in (the Kalaeloa) project with my predecessor and since then I have not connected with him at all. We have been exclusive with who we have partnered with. We are not asking for broad help anymore we are being a little bit more exclusive with who we ask,” he said Sunday. “Primarily for reasons like this. Because we are doing work with government, we have to be a lot more diligent in vetting contractors, donors and supporters.”
Carvalho said he was not aware of any of Routh’s affiliations or political views, but described him as “radical” from a business standpoint.
Routh’s eldest son, Oran, told CNN via text that Routh was “a loving and caring father, and honest hardworking man.”
The son wrote, “I don’t know what’s happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been blown out of proportion, because from the little I’ve heard it doesn’t sound like the man I know to do anything crazy, much less violent.”
But other media have reported that he had an extensive criminal history in North Carolina that includes convictions between 2002 and 2010 of possession of weapons of mass destruction, carrying a concealed gun, hit and run, possession of stolen goods and resisting law enforcement, among other charges.
Honolulu police have records of four interactions with Routh, law enforcement sources told the Star-Advertiser. Two interactions came in 2019 and two in 2021.
In 2019 Routh and two others were allegedly squatting on property in Kaaawa when the property owner called to have them removed.
Routh also reported lost property to police, and was involved in a “miscellaneous public case,” a classification police use to cover interactions with citizens that don’t fit into a particular statute.
In 2021, Routh reported being the victim in an alleged third-degree assault case. Routh was working as a handyman and argued with a resident living on the property that he was working on, sources said. Routh alleged that he was punched in the nose but no arrests were made.
Reuters found profiles on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn for a Ryan Routh who appeared to be the man identified as the suspect. Reuters was not able to confirm these were the suspect’s accounts and law enforcement agencies declined to comment, but public access to the Facebook and X profiles was removed hours after the shooting.
Reuters said the three accounts bearing Routh’s name suggest he was an avid supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia. In several of the posts, he appeared to be trying to help recruit soldiers for Ukraine’s war effort.
Routh wrote several published letters to the editor in the Star-Advertiser between 2018 and April 2024. The topics he chose were typically local issues, such as graffiti, Haiku Stairs, potholes.
However, his signature in his emails included links to websites in support of Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66e7dec41f344169bb87b69b431e63b6&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.staradvertiser.com%2F2024%2F09%2F15%2Fbreaking-news%2Fman-arrested-in-suspected-assassination-attempt-lived-in-hawaii-north-carolina%2F&c=7977253628930633569&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-09-15 16:23:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.