(BIVN) – Hawaiʻi County Police Detective Anson Caceres is the 2023 Police Officer of the Year, and was recently honored by the Kona Crime Prevention Committee.

From the Police Department:

For his meticulous work that was instrumental in solving two murder investigations, the Kona Crime Prevention Committee named Detective Anson Caceres as its 2023 Police Officer of the Year during a ceremony on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, in Kona.
Detective Caceres was recognized for his exhaustive efforts reviewing video surveillance footage that helped crack two murder investigations.

Between May 17, and June 7, 2022, detectives with Hawai‘i Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Section in Area I (east Hawai‘i) and Area II (west Hawai‘i) were investigating two murder cases in Kona and two attempted murder cases in Hilo.

While each detective conducted a thorough investigation, Detective Caceres distinguished himself with his detailed and time-consuming work after volunteering to conduct video surveillance recovery and review.

Recovering video of the first murder scene in Kona from the closest video system, a big-box store 100 yards away, Detective Caceres spent several days methodically reviewing the video surveillance in great detail. He then contacted multiple businesses in the Kona Old Industrial area and recovered numerous videos. By analyzing and piecing together the individual videos, he was able to follow the path of a suspicious passerby until he obtained a clear image of the individual. This process led to the identification of the suspect in the investigation.

Area II detectives were able to locate and arrest the 24-year-old suspect, who was subsequently charged with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and two counts of second-degree attempted murder.

“Officer Caceres is to be commended for his outstanding efforts in this murder investigation. His dogged determination and meticulous police skills led to the ‘big break’ that helped solve this case and enabled our officers to bring this suspect to justice,” said Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz. “I am extremely proud of Officer Caceres and the dedication he demonstrated in this investigation.”

Every month the Kona Crime Prevention Committee honors a police officer in west Hawai‘i as their Officer of the Month. Officers are nominated by their supervisors from the various police districts and a winner is selected by the KCPC board of directors. Detective Caceres was named Officer of the Month for December 2022. All officers selected for Officer of the Month are eligible to be selected as the Kona Crime Prevention Committee’s Officer of the Year.

25 year-old Chito K. Asuncion recently pleaded guilty in circuit court to second degree murder and first degree assault charges, in connection to the deaths of two victims in Kona, and the stabbings of two other victims in Hilo.