A judge on Thursday maintained bail for a carjacking suspect.
Hilo District Judge Kanani Laubach denied a motion by Deputy Public Defender Zac Wingert to reduce Kevin Anthony Torres’ bail from $171,000. That motion was objected to by Deputy Prosecutor Brittny Marino.
Torres, a 40-year-old Pahoa man, is charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree theft, unauthorized control of a stolen vehicle and driving without a license.
The most serious charge, first-degree robbery, is a Class A felony that carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence, upon conviction.
According to court documents filed by police, a 69-year-old man told police he, on April 19, picked up a hitchhiker he later identified as Torres near the 13-mile marker of Highway 130 in Puna. The victim, who drove a teal 2015 Nissan Versa, documents state, told officers the hitchhiker — whom he hadn’t previously met — told him he was going to Kalapana Black Sands subdivision but requested to be dropped off near Leilani Estates.
The victim reportedly told police that while he was driving, Torres pulled a black pistol from his backpack and held it in his lap, pointed at the victim.
The victim, documents state, said he asked the hitchhiker “Are you kidding me?” The hitchhiker allegedly told the victim, “Don’t make me hurt you,” then ordered the driver to turn into the dead end of Old Kalapana Road. After the driver did so, documents state, the hitchhiker demanded the driver get out of the vehicle and hand over the keys.
The victim told police the carjacker then drove away at a high rate of speed, according to documents.
On Tuesday, a Puna patrol officer reportedly spotted a spray-painted white Nissan Versa with no front license plate on Highway 137 in lower Puna. The officer then reportedly made a U-turn in an attempt to make a traffic stop on the hatchback for no front license plate.
The officer reportedly saw the car pull into the driveway of a home on Kalapana-Kapoho Beach Road, and noted the vehicle had a rear license plate that didn’t belong on the Nissan. A check of the vehicle identification number on the front dashboard revealed the car had been reported as stolen.
The officer found Torres hiding in shrubbery on the property and arrested him without incident, documents state.
According to documents, Torres — who has multiple felony convictions — denied stealing the vehicle after being read his rights, and then demanded a lawyer.
Laubach ordered Torres to return to court Monday for a preliminary hearing.
Torres remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
