A Kona man was charged with numerous offenses following a shoplifting incident in Kona.
A Kona man was charged with numerous offenses following a shoplifting incident in Kona.
Shortly before 3 p.m. Monday, officers responded to a report of a shoplifting at a store on the 74-5000 block of Kamakaeha Avenue in Kailua-Kona. Two men who appeared to be together reportedly stole items from the store. One left through a rear door with the stolen items and fled on foot into the brush. Another left through a front door and got into a black Honda Civic.
Officers attempted to stop the car in the parking lot but the driver refused to stop. Police followed the car to the intersection of Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Kealakehe Parkway, where the driver got out of the Honda and ran away. Following a short foot pursuit, officers arrested 23-year-old Jesse Travis Ralston of Kailua-Kona.
The car had fraudulent license plates and had been reported stolen from a home in Kailua View Estates Dec. 10 or 11, according to police, and Ralston was in possession of crystal methamphetamine. Detectives executed a search warrant on bags inside the car and reportedly found additional crystal meth inside, along with drug paraphernalia.
Ralston was charged Tuesday with auto theft, failure to obey a police officer, reckless driving, resisting arrest, fraudulent use of a license plate, drug paraphernalia, two counts of promoting a dangerous drug and three probation violations. His bail was set at $119,000. He remained in the cellblock pending his initial court appearance Thursday.
The other suspect, who police have not named, is still at large.