KEALAKEKUA — A Kona District Court judge found there is probable cause to move the case of a man and woman from Kailua-Kona facing several drug charges to 3rd Circuit Court. ADVERTISING KEALAKEKUA — A Kona District Court judge found
KEALAKEKUA — A Kona District Court judge found there is probable cause to move the case of a man and woman from Kailua-Kona facing several drug charges to 3rd Circuit Court.
A preliminary hearing for Michelle Wright, 43, and Samson Keanaaina, 53, took place Monday. They were arrested last week after a search warrant was executed March 8 at a homeless campsite at Old Kona Airport State Recreation yielded various amounts of drugs and paraphernalia.
Wright and Keanaaina were slated to appear Thursday in circuit court for arraignment and a plea hearing.
During Monday’s hearing, two Hawaii Police Department officers testified about the day the search warrant was issued.
Marco Segobia, lead investigator on the case, testified the campsite included two 10-by-10-foot tents. Inside were Keanaaina and Wright laying on a bed together.
According to testimony, during a search of the tent, Segobia testified, officers found a dark solid-colored Hydro Flask at the south end of the bed. Inside were three zip packets and a substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine.
A smaller floral-print Hydro Flask was found on the bed. Inside were three glass pipes that had methamphetamine residue.
Segobia described two backpacks also recovered from the scene. Among what investigators found in the backpacks upon their search were digital scales, angle-cut straws, methamphetamine and a lot of unused zip packets.
Segobia testified the items found are consistent with methamphetamine distribution.
Officers also discovered a plastic wrapper on the bed where Keanaaina was sleeping inside the tent. The substance on the wrapper field tested positive for heroin.
In total, officers said they found 171.3 grams, more than 6.1 ounces, of suspected crystal methamphetamine, 45.5 grams of suspected marijuana and 0.4 of a gram of suspected black tar heroin.
Keanaaina faces one count of first-degree promoting dangerous drugs, four counts of possessing drug paraphernalia, three counts of third-degree promoting dangerous drugs; one count of second-degree promoting detrimental drugs and one count of promoting controlled substances in a park.
Deputy Public Defender Wendy DeWeese, Keanaaina’s attorney, unsuccessfully asked the court Monday to drop the promoting a controlled substance in a park charge.
Wright faces one count of first-degree promoting dangerous drugs, three counts of possessing drug paraphernalia, one count of second-degree promoting dangerous drugs, one count of third-degree promoting dangerous drugs, one count of third-degree promoting detrimental drugs and one count of promoting controlled substances in a park.
Email Tiffany DeMasters at tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com.
