Prosecutors dropped a kidnapping charge against a 27-year-old Hilo man accused of a meth-fueled rampage during which he assaulted two police officers and crashed a pickup truck.
During arraignment Tuesday in Hilo Circuit Court for Keone Kapono Hiilei, Deputy Public Defender Michael Ebesugawa told Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto that Hiilei agreed to waive his right to a preliminary hearing in exchange for the state dropping the kidnapping charge.
“Yes, Your Honor, we did dismiss the kidnapping,” Deputy Prosecutor Suzanna Tiapula told the judge.
Hiilei pleaded not guilty to the remaining 12 charges, which include two counts each of assaulting a police officer, promoting a dangerous drug in the third-degree and possession of drug paraphernalia, plus leaving the scene of an accident, resisting arrest, second-degree terroristic threatening, reckless driving and driving without a license and insurance.
Nakamoto ordered Hiilei to appear at 8:30 a.m. April 23, 2018, for trial.
According to court documents filed by police, a 19-year-old Hilo woman told officers she was walking in front of the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel on Banyan Drive at about 10 p.m. Nov. 17 when Hiilei, an acquaintance, rolled up in an older blue Toyota and threatened to kill her if she didn’t get into the truck.
The woman reportedly said Hiilei then drove recklessly, forced her to smoke crystal methamphetamine and eventually crashed the pickup into a concrete barricade and a fence near the old Hakalau sugar mill.
Two police officers, Kelly Moniz and Steven Grace, reported encountering Hiilei a short time later at the 13.5-mile marker of Hawaii Belt Road (Highway 19).
Moniz said Hiilei threw a skateboard and hit Moniz on the forehead. Grace reported that Hiilei then ran at him and struck him in the mouth with his right forearm.
If convicted of kidnapping, Hiilei could have faced a potential 20 years in prison. The most severe of the remaining charges are Class C felonies punishable by up to five years behind bars.
Hiilei remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of $55,500 bail.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.