A 39-year-old homeless man is charged with trespassing and several drug offenses after a Neighborhood Watch member in Volcano and other area residents took action after observing suspicious activity.
A 39-year-old homeless man is charged with trespassing and several drug offenses after a Neighborhood Watch member in Volcano and other area residents took action after observing suspicious activity.
At about 12:45 p.m. Sunday, a resident saw an unknown man enter her property for the third time in several days and look into her house. The same man was seen by several neighbors walking onto other properties and his photo had been circulated in the neighborhood.
Upon learning of this latest incident, neighbors contacted their Neighborhood Watch representative, banded together, searched for the suspicious man and found him. After confronting him as a group, they called the police, who arrived 10 minutes later.
Officers received the man’s consent to search a 5-gallon bucket residents saw him carrying when they confronted him, police said. The bucket contained a clear plastic bag with meth residue, a cut straw with meth residue, 2.6 grams of dried marijuana and two unspent bullets.
Kehaulaniokekai Ching was arrested and taken to the Hilo police cellblock, where he was charged Monday with trespassing, promoting a dangerous drug, marijuana possession, drug paraphernalia and illegal storage of ammunition.
Ching’s bail was set at $5,500, and his initial court appearance was Tuesday.