Could swear zoning comes into play here, that shooting in residential zoned areas is verboten, agricultural zoned areas is fine as long as the other issues are addressed.
That may be Hawaii county only though.
In State v. Martins, 101 P.3d 671, 106 Haw. 62 (2004), the ICA decided on appeal a sufficiency of the evidence claim for Reckless Endangering in the Second. I'll copy-paste parts of the case for you below. You're welcome to make of it what you will.
Here are the Facts:
The charges against Martins arose out of an incident that occurred on May 15, 2000. At that time, Martins was living in his car.
Martins testified that he had driven to Nakalele Point on the evening of May 14, 2000. Martins planned to target shoot on the 15th. At approximately 10:00 a.m. on the 15th, Martins assembled his shotgun and placed his targets. Martins heard motorcycles approaching and walked up a hill to get to high ground.
Hazel Cappal (Cappal), Wilbert Pascua (Pascua), and Ross Baybado (Baybado) (collectively, dirt bikers) were in the area to ride a dirt bike. Cappal testified that when she **676 *67 and Pascua rode the dirt bike up a hill, they saw Martins. Martins repeatedly yelled at them, “[w]hat are you guys doing? Get off of my fucking land because of the cows are starving.” The land was not owned by Martins; the owner was Maui Land and Pine.
Cappal testified that she and Pascua walked the bike back to the truck at the bottom of the hill; while they were waiting for Baybado, she heard eight gunshots. Pascua testified that he and Cappal walked and rode the bike back to the truck; Pascua heard six to eight gunshots while he and Cappal were at the truck. Cappal and Pascua testified that they were scared when they heard the gunshots. Baybado testified that while he was hearing the gunshots, he was running to Pascua's truck because he was scared he “might get shot or something.”
The dirt bikers stopped at a vending stand on their way out, and Doreen Nakoa (Doreen), who ran the vending stand, called the police for the dirt bikers. When Martins drove by the vending stand about fifteen minutes later, Cappal got Martins' license plate number and gave it to the police.
The police stopped Martins' vehicle by the Honolua Bay lookout shortly thereafter, and the three dirt bikers identified Martins. Martins' car was towed to the Lahaina Police Station, and the police executed a search warrant on the car the following day. From the car the police recovered a Remington pump shotgun (not in a case), live ammunition and spent cartridge casings, a leafy vegetation believed to be marijuana, and a toiletry bag containing the components of a zip gun.
Here is the relevant part of the opinion (Part III-C):
C. Reckless Endangering in the Second Degree
23Martins contends the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of Reckless Endangering in the Second Degree because the State failed to establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that his conduct recklessly placed another person in danger of death or serious bodily injury. Specifically, he asserts that the evidence was conflicting as to whether the area was populated and the evidence was insufficient to support that he shot in the direction of the highway. Reckless Endangering in the Second Degree, HRS § 707–714 (1993), requires:
§ 707–714 Reckless endangering in the second degree. (1) A person commits the offense of reckless endangering in the second degree if the person engages in conduct which recklessly places another person in danger of death or serious bodily injury.
(2) For the purposes of this section and in addition to other applications, a person engages in conduct which recklessly places another person in danger of death or serious bodily injury when that person intentionally discharges a firearm in a populated area, in a residential area or within the boundaries or in the direction of any road, street or highway; provided that the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to any person who discharges a firearm upon a target range for the purpose of the target shooting done in compliance with all laws and regulations applicable thereto.
(3) Reckless endangering in the second degree is a misdemeanor.
(Emphasis added.)
24When evaluating the sufficiency of evidence, we consider the evidence in the strongest light for the prosecution and evaluate whether there was “substantial evidence” (credible evidence which is of sufficient quality and probative value to support the conclusion of the trier of fact).Richie, 88 Hawai‘i at 33, 960 P.2d at 1241.
Cappal testified that the area was a “well-populated area, I usually see tourists out there, but not very many tourists. And as far as that area where we were dirt biking, usually just dirt bikers go in that area.” Doreen testified that during the day when she was at the vending stand, she saw four to five cars a day, averaging three to four people in each car, from a little before 12:00 until 4:30 p.m. Doreen also testified that she often saw people on motorcycles or dirt bikes riding in the area, more so on Mondays (May 15, 2000 was a Monday) and Fridays. From this testimony, the jury could have found that the area was populated.
Hawaii Revised Statutes § 707–714(2) requires that the shots be fired in a populated area or towards the direction of a highway. We conclude there was substantial evidence upon which the jury could have found that Martins discharged a firearm in a populated area.