KEALAKEKUA —A Keaau man arrested Monday after a traffic incident at the corner of Daniel K. Inouye Highway, or Saddle Road, and Highway 190 was denied supervised release Wednesday during his first court appearance.
KEALAKEKUA —A Keaau man arrested Monday after a traffic incident at the corner of Daniel K. Inouye Highway, or Saddle Road, and Highway 190 was denied supervised release Wednesday during his first court appearance.
Jason A.K. Mattos, 30, appeared before Kona District Court Judge Margaret Masunaga. He is charged with promoting a dangerous drug and failure to obey police directions after allegedly stopping at the intersection, not making a turn and causing a traffic backup.
A driver eventually checked on the stationary car and reportedly saw a gun in Mattos’ lap as he sat in the driver’s side, according to police.
The incident, which was made public at 12:40 p.m., closed the intersection for more than two hours, forcing West Hawaii drivers to find alternate routes.
Mattos eventually was taken into custody and booked into the South Kohala police station in Waimea.
Alan Richmond, spokesman for Hawaii police, said no gun was found during a search of Mattos’ vehicle.
While Masunaga didn’t grant supervised release, she said if Mattos could make bail, set at $2,250, he could do the supervised release.
A preliminary hearing is set for 2 p.m. today.
Email Tiffany DeMasters at tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com.