A judge on Thursday denied a request by a 31-year-old Hilo man facing 21 criminal charges, including mail theft and credit card fraud, to be freed from custody without posting cash bail.
Hilo District Judge Kanani Laubach denied the motion by Deputy Public Defender Kalae Trask-Sharpe to grant supervised release to Keoni Brian Paulino and maintained his bail at $261,000. She ordered Paulino to return to court Monday for a preliminary hearing.
Paulino is charged with three counts each of mail theft, theft of credit card, fraudulent use of credit card, fourth-degree theft and third-degree identity theft, four counts of possession of confidential personal information, plus methamphetamine possession and habitual property crime.
According to police, officers responded shortly after 2 a.m. Monday to Kupulau Road in the upper Waiakea Uka area of Hilo after a report of theft from mailboxes and a dark-colored sport-utility vehicle seen leaving the area.
Responding officers spotted a dark-blue Mercedes SUV northbound on Komohana Street near Kupulau. According to police, officers kept tabs on the SUV, which traveled makai on Puainako Street, then made a traffic stop when it turned onto West Kawili Street.
Officers identified Paulino, who was alone in the vehicle, as the driver.
Police say officers observed mail partially stuffed under the front passenger seat and arrested Paulino on a bench warrant for failure to appear in court.
A search warrant was executed on the SUV, police said, and detectives found mail belonging to upper Waiakea Uka residents, plus stolen credit cards and receipts from transactions made with the stolen cards.
Also found was a glass smoking pipe with residue that tested positive for methamphetamine.
According to court documents filed by police, Paulino has six prior felony convictions.
He remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.