Police think a 21-year-old Puna man stole at least three vehicles and broke into another between early April and late May, according to court documents.
On Monday, Hilo District Judge Harry Freitas ordered Keanu Kaikala Krause to appear at 2 p.m. today for a preliminary hearing.
Krause is charged with unauthorized entry to a motor vehicle, three counts each of unauthorized control of a stolen vehicle and second-degree theft and third degree theft. He also is charged with burglary and fourth-degree theft in an unrelated case from August, and is scheduled for a July 6 preliminary hearing on those charges.
According to documents, a 2000 Ford F-250 pickup was stolen April 3 from the Hilo Safeway gas station parking lot. The truck’s owner said he saw his truck on Oshiro Road in Mountain View about three days later with a man he identified as Krause in the driver’s seat.
Two officers responding the morning of June 4 to a report of gunshots on Beach Road near Kaloli Point in Hawaiian Paradise Park saw a dark Toyota pickup without license plates. According to documents, the officers saw Krause jump in the truck and flee. The truck, which police said was taken from a Pohaku Drive home in the early morning hours of May 31, was recovered June 5 near Kaloli Point.
A Kurtistown man reportedly told police his 2017 Honda four-door sedan was parked on Olaa Road the afternoon of April 22 when someone broke into his trunk and stole a full 5-gallon gas can. According to documents, a witness saw the car break-in and identified the suspect as Krause. The witness also reported Krause left the area in a white 2003 Toyota Tacoma reportedly stolen earlier that day.
At Krause’s initial court appearance Monday, Deputy Public Defender Austin Hsu requested his client’s bail on the three second-degree theft charges be dropped.
“I’ll note that … his bail is current set at $50,000 on a Class C felony. I would argue that that is, in essence, a violation of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” Hsu told the judge. “… Bail imposition guidelines for felony offenses set by (3rd Circuit Chief) Judge (Ronald) Ibarra is for Class C felonies is from $2,000 to $10,000. This is Mr. Krause’s first felony charge. I believe bail of $5,000 to $10,000 would be more appropriate, rather than the $50,000 amount.”
Deputy Prosecutor Glenn Shiigi asked Freitas to maintain Krause’s bail and added that if the judge were to reduce bail on the second-degree theft charges, he’d be requesting increases in bail from $2,000 to $10,000 on the unauthorized control charges, which are also Class C felonies.
“The charging language includes extended terms of imprisonment if the defendant is found guilty of two or more of the felonies charged against him,” Shiigi noted.
Freitas reduced bail on the felony theft charges to $20,000 per count, and raised bail to $10,000 on each of the unauthorized control charges, in effect lowering Krause’s total bail from $160,500 to $84,500.
“I look at all the charges that Mr. Krause has and I believe it’s quite appropriate to raise the bail when I think it’s insufficient, just as I believe it’s appropriate to reduce the bail when bail may be too high,” the judge said.
Despite the decrease in total bail, Hsu again objected to the bail hikes on some charges, citing Judge Ibarra’s guidelines.
“They are guidelines,” Freitas replied. “Just like I watch ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and all the pirate gangs have these guidelines. … They’re not actual rules.”
County Prosecutor Mitch Roth, who was in the courtroom gallery, said he’s considering asking for a judge to decide probable cause exists to try Krause on the charges, which would make a preliminary hearing or grand jury indictment unnecessary, and send the case to Hilo Circuit Court for possible trial.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
