A state adult corrections officer pleaded not guilty Tuesday to third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto ordered 58-year-old Ricky R. Espejo of Pahala to appear for trial at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 23.
The judge also told Espejo he’s not to own possess or use firearms while his case is active. In addition, he ordered Espejo to turn in any firearms or ammunition in his possession to police.
Espejo, 58, was accompanied in court by Deputy Public Defender Sherilyn Tavares.
The drug charge is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment upon conviction.
Espejo, who’s free on $2,000 bail, was indicted by a Hilo grand jury on June 19.
The indictment serves as probable cause to try Espejo on the charges and rendered unnecessary a preliminary hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday.
According to police, Espejo, who is assigned to Hale Nani Correctional Facility, a minimum-security facility on the southern outskirts of Hilo, was pulled over by a Hilo patrol officer just after midnight May 2 because the pickup truck he was driving had a defective brake light.
Police say the officer also discovered the weight tax and safety check stickers on the truck were expired.
According to police, the officer saw drug paraphernalia in plain view, arrested Espejo and a 29-year-old woman passenger — identified in a police log as Krystal Kahalioumi of Hilo — and impounded the truck as evidence.
A search warrant was executed on the vehicle, and officers found paraphernalia items with methamphetamine residue, police said.
Kahalioumi was released from custody pending further investigation.
To date, she hasn’t been charged in this case but faces third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and a felony resisting an order to stop charge in a case filed in January 2018 that is still active.
Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Toni Schwartz said in an email earlier this month that Espejo, who has been with the department 23 years, “remains employed while the department investigates all allegations.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.