A 47-year-old Honokaa man will be extradited to his native Oregon to face charges related to a fatal traffic crash more than two years ago.
Richard Phillip Travis King waived his right to an extradition hearing Tuesday in Hilo Circuit Court. An indictment filed Sept. 28, 2015, in Yamhill County Trial Court charges King with first-degree manslaughter, negligent homicide and possession of methamphetamine.
A warrant for King’s arrest issued by the Oregon court set bail at $500,000.
According to a police log, he was arrested at 11:45 a.m. Monday at a Honokaa-Waipio Road address.
King answered a series of yes-and-no questions from Judge Glenn Hara, who set a 1 p.m. Dec. 16 hearing, which will take place only if Oregon authorities haven’t arrived to escort King back to the mainland by then.
Deputy Prosecutor Jack Matsukawa requested the judge consider ordering that King be detained without bail, while King’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Patrick Munoz, asked for bail to be set “in a reasonable amount,” which he described as $25,000 to $50,000.
Hara maintained King’s bail at $500,000.
According to reports in The Oregonian newspaper and Salem-News.com, King, who lived in Carlton, Ore., struck and killed a bicyclist while driving a 1999 Chevrolet van on Oregon Highway 47 about 2 miles north of McMinnville. The bicyclist, 56-year-old Juan Huapeo Garcia, also of Carlton, was struck from behind and pronounced dead at the scene. He wasn’t wearing a helmet.
The collision occurred at about 5 p.m. Aug. 12, 2014, and, according to reports, King apparently fell asleep at the wheel.
King, who was a licensed building contractor in Oregon, wasn’t injured in the crash.
A search of the Oregon state Construction Contractors Board website found King’s license was placed on inactive status April 1, 2015. The website said King’s license “expired after a lapse.”
It’s not clear how long King has been in Hawaii.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
