Police have arrested and charged a man in connection with the theft of a Jeep Wrangler stolen during the summer.
Police have arrested and charged a man in connection with the theft of a Jeep Wrangler stolen during the summer.
The Jeep was taken from the 92-1500 block of Keaka Parkway in Ocean View on Aug. 24. The following day, a Ka‘u police officer saw the Jeep being driven by 37-year-old Lawrene K. Baldonado, who was wanted on two bench warrants for contempt of court. When the officer attempted to stop Baldonado, he fled in a reckless manner, crashed into a metal gate and abandoned the vehicle, police said.
Baldonado was arrested at 5:45 p.m. Thursday in Pahala and charged with two counts of contempt of court. His bail was set at $4,000.
Then at 9 a.m. Friday, Baldonado was charged with second-degree theft, resisting an order to stop, reckless driving and driving without a license. His bail on those offenses was set at $26,000.
He remains in the cellblock pending a court appearance on Monday.