A 24-year-old Pahoa man pleaded not guilty to five dozen financial crimes and four-drug related charges.
On Friday, Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto ordered Tre Keala Avilla-Alconcel to appear at 8:30 a.m. July 15 for trial.
Avilla-Alconcel is charged with attempted third-degree theft, third-degree identity theft, three counts of second-degree forgery, 25 counts of credit card theft, two counts each of promoting a dangerous drug and drug paraphernalia, and 30 counts of unauthorized possession of personal confidential information.
The judge rejected a defense request for supervised release without bail for Avilla-Alconcel, who remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of $121,000 bail.
According to court documents filed by police, the owner of Kinoole Auto Care in Hilo reported to police that sometime between Feb. 10 and Feb. 13, someone took three checks from his business office. On Feb. 13, the business owner received a call from Payday Loans in Hilo asking if he had written one of the checks for $500, as a woman was attempting to cash it. The business owner replied he had not.
The payday loan company then called police, and an officer was in the vicinity when the call was received. According to police, the officer saw the woman and Avilla-Alconcel talking to each other in the Payday Loans parking lot. The woman reportedly told police Avilla-Alconcel gave her the check. Both were arrested; the woman was later released.
A search warrant was obtained for the white SUV Avilla-Alconcel was driving, according to police. Officers reportedly found another check belonging to the business owner, credit cards belonging to three other individuals plus the Social Security and Medicare cards for one of the three.
Also found was two pipes containing methamphetamine residue plus other drug paraphernalia, police said.
Sixty-one of the charges are Class C felonies punishable by up to five years imprisonment upon conviction, while attempted third-degree theft is a misdemeanor and the drug paraphernalia charges are violations.
Avilla-Alconcel has no prior felony convictions, documents state.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.