Police seek man wanted on $50,000 probation warrant in Puna, Hāmākua

Hawai‘i Island police asked the public on June 5 to help locate 43-year-old Junior Santiago, who is wanted on an outstanding $50,000 warrant for probation violation. The warrant turns the case into more than a routine paper chase: police are treating Santiago as someone who may be out of compliance with court-ordered conditions and could be moving through East Hawai‘i communities.

Santiago is described as a male, 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing 175 pounds, with gray hair and brown eyes. Police said he is known to frequent the Puna and Hāmākua districts, a detail that gives residents, business owners, and drivers in those areas a specific reason to stay alert. Those districts cover broad stretches of the island, and people can move quickly between smaller communities, shoreline roads, and town centers without drawing attention.

The notice is aimed at preventing a direct encounter from escalating. Anyone who sees Santiago is being asked to treat the situation as urgent, avoid trying to detain or approach him, and contact police through official channels instead. Law enforcement said anyone with information about his whereabouts should pass it along to authorities rather than taking matters into their own hands.

Probation-violation warrants often signal that a person is already under court supervision and may have missed required conditions set by the court. In a county as spread out as Hawai‘i Island, those cases can create local safety concerns well beyond the original court file, especially when a person’s recent location is unclear and they are believed to be moving between districts such as Puna, Hāmākua, and neighboring East Hawai‘i communities.

For Big Island residents, the immediate issue is straightforward: if Santiago is seen, report the sighting and let police handle the contact. The public alert is meant to close the gap between a wanted person’s movements and the island-wide awareness needed to locate him safely.