A 38-year-old Kailua-Kona woman has pleaded not guilty to five felony drug charges and a misdemeanor theft charge.
Taya Marissa Black entered the plea Friday before Kona Circuit Judge Wendy DeWeese.
A Kona grand jury returned an indictment on Aug. 22 charging Black with first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, attempted first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, two counts of third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, plus a single count of shoplifting.
DeWeese ordered Black to appear for a jury trial on Dec. 5. Black is free on supervised release, a form of cashless bail.
According to court documents filed by police, officers received a tip that Black and a man — who has not been charged in the case — was aboard United Flight 1721 from San Francisco to Kona on Aug. 9 and were “using commercial airlines to transport illegal narcotics to include methamphetamine and fentanyl between San Francisco and Hawaii Island.”
Vice officers conducted surveillance on Black, according to documents, and allegedly saw her shoplift a blue Hawaiian print duffel bag from a gift shop at the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole. Officers conducted a traffic stop of a gold Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck she was a passenger in, including a drug-sniffing dog, which reportedly indicated the presence of narcotics in the vehicle.
Documents state that search warrant was obtained for the truck, and officers confiscated 114.3 grams of fentanyl, plus two blue pills containing the deadly synthetic opioid narcotic, 3.6 grams of cocaine and 1.6 grams of methamphetamine.
Also found was the allegedly shoplifted duffel, with a reported retail price of $35.
The first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and attempted first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, the most serious offenses, are Class A felony charges that carry a potential 20 year prison term, upon conviction.
Black, who originally gave officers the alias “Dana Ryen” according to documents, has no prior felony convictions.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
