Hawaii man arrested on the mainland 6 months after deadly fight

Hawaii man arrested on the mainland 6 months after deadly fight
Published: Jun. 27, 2018 at 1:54 AM HST|Updated: Jun. 27, 2018 at 6:32 AM HST
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MILILANI, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Hawaii man on the run after a deadly fight six months ago has been arrested in Arizona.

Sources say suspect Shane Dilwith showed up at a friend's house in Yavapai County looking for a place to hide out. But that's when a friend called authorities.

Dilwith was wanted in connection with a fight that that happened in December last year at the Jungle Juice Market on Waihau Street in Mililani.

Police say Dilwith, 24, allegedly punched 52-year-old Thomas Morikawa inside the market, causing him to fall and hit his head on the floor.

Morikawa was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where he was kept on life support for several days before he died.

Morikawa's closest friends say it's been a long six months of pain and unanswered questions.

"The family deserves answers and the family wants answers. They've been coping with this for quite awhile now. So if Shane could find it in his heart to just come back. We want to hear his side of the story. We want to know what happened. We just want to know why," Dean Hashida, friend of Thomas Morikawa said.

Authorities say the incident was unprovoked.

An Oahu Grand Jury indicted Dilwith with manslaughter back in December. A warrant went out for his arrest and he has been on the run since.

Police in Arizona confirmed he was arrested on May 24th.

"It's not common for somebody to just walk up and punch somebody. So we want to know why. There's only two people who know why. And one of them is not here. Tommy is not here to answer. We can't ask him. So at least we could ask Shane. The family can ask why," Hashida said.

Police say Morikawa and Dilwith knew each other but it's unclear how.

Arizona police tell us they have been in contact with Honolulu police and they are working on getting a warrant for extradition.

It's unclear if Dilwith is fighting extradition.

This story will be updated.

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