Bail has been reduced for a 20-year-old Puna man accused of forcibly stealing a 57-year-old woman’s car on July 4 at Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport.
At the request of Deputy Public Defender Kellen Akamu, Hilo District Judge Kanani Laubach reduced the bail for Lasty Jessy of Keaau from $194,000 to $104,000 without objection by Deputy Prosecutor Asia Howe.
Jessy is charged with second-degree robbery, unauthorized control of a stolen vehicle, first-degree theft, driving under the influence of drugs, resisting an order to stop, reckless driving, inattention to driving, and driving without a license.
The most serious offenses, second-degree robbery and first-degree theft, are both Class B felonies that carry a potential 10-year prison sentence.
Jessy waived a preliminary hearing for the charges on Wednesday and was ordered by Laubach to appear for arraignment and plea at 8:30 a.m. July 24 before Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto.
The victim reported at about 8:20 p.m. on Independence Day, that she was dropping off a friend at the airport. The woman told police she parked her gray Subaru sedan along the curb in front of the passenger check-in area. She reportedly left the engine running and the driver’s door open while she opened the trunk to unload her friend’s luggage.
While saying goodbye to her friend, the victim saw a man — later identified as Jessy — enter the driver’s seat and attempt to drive away. When she ran to the open driver’s door and grabbed the steering wheel in an attempt to stop the theft, the victim was dragged a few feet by the moving vehicle before being forced to let go, police said.
The woman was treated for injuries to her head and body at Kona Community Hospital and later released.
Police spotted the stolen vehicle at about 1:25 a.m. July 6 on East Kawili Street in Hilo, but when an officer tried to initiate a traffic stop, the vehicle sped away a reckless manner and police terminated the pursuit.
At about 6:37 a.m. the same morning, officers responded to a major traffic collision at the intersection of Kanoelehua Avenue and West Kawailani Street. A Department of Land and Natural Resources enforcement officer reportedly witnessed the stolen Subaru run a red light and collide with a Toyota SUV making a lawful turn.
Jessy allegedly fled the crash scene on foot, but the DLNR officer caught and detained Jessy until police arrived and arrested him.
Both vehicles were severely damaged, but neither driver was seriously injured. Detectives recovered the stolen vehicle as evidence.
Jessy remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
