A federal, state and county law enforcement warrant sweep in late August netted 67 arrests on Hawaii Island, including 30 in Kona alone.
A federal, state and county law enforcement warrant sweep in late August netted 67 arrests on Hawaii Island, including 30 in Kona alone.
Hawaii Police Department officers, state Department of Public Safety sheriffs and U.S. Marshals teamed up for the annual warrant roundup between Aug. 27 and 29, said District of Hawaii Deputy U.S. Marshal Donna Diaz. Calling the collaboration one of the U.S. Marshals’ District of Hawaii larger operations, Diaz said, in all, 91 warrants were served during the Hawaii Fugitive Task Force sweep.
She added officers turned up no weapons during the Hawaii Island operation, but did locate drugs, including methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. At least four deputies were involved in the operation.
Capt. Sam Kawamoto, head of the Hawaii Police Department’s Criminal Intelligence Unit, said 30 Big Island-based officers participated in the collaborative effort that focused solely on the department’s Puna, South Hilo, South Kohala and Kona districts. He confirmed no weapons were found and noted several “spin-off” cases resulted from the sweep.
The state Department of Public Safety provided two sheriffs for the operation, said department spokeswoman Toni Schwartz.
Many of the warrants served by the law enforcement officers stemmed from grand jury indictments and criminal contempt of court offenses, he said, explaining certain criteria has to be followed under the collaborative effort. According to a U.S. Marshals prepared statement, those arrested were wanted for various crimes including drug offenses, sex offenses, robbery, theft, and probation violations, among others.
In West Hawaii, 36 people were arrested and 46 bench warrants served with 30 of those arrests in the department’s Kona District, which includes the geographic areas of North and South Kona, Kawamoto said. The remaining six arrests occurred in the South Kohala District, primarily in the Waimea area. No warrants were served in Ka‘u or North Kohala.
In East Hawaii’s Puna and Hilo areas, officers took into custody 31 people, accounting for 45 bench warrants served, he said. No warrants were served on the Hamakua Coast.
Kawamoto, noting the August collaboration was the first he has taken part in as an officer and member of the unit, said he was unable to comment on what effect the arrests had on the overall number of people wanted on outstanding warrants islandwide. Records and ID Section Lt. Randal Ishii said the department as of Tuesday had active 546 adult arrest warrants and 3,056 adult bench warrants.
He did note, however, that while police work to serve warrants every day, having a task force focus only on serving outstanding warrants over a several day period is very helpful in clearing warrants.
Diaz further explained that the annual multi-agency collaboration is a means for serving outstanding warrants that can get backlogged. Because the U.S. Marshals is involved, federal money is available to local law enforcement agencies to help with overtime costs, she added.
She also noted that a multi-agency approach is more efficient since resources from three normally separate parties are brought together.
“It helps to put everybody’s ideas into one basket,” she said. “If we’re going after one fugitive, one agency may know this and another may know that — it helps to combine the resources.”
The Hawaii Island sweep preceded an early September roundup by the Hawaii Fugitive Task Force on the island of Maui. There, law enforcement officers arrested 66 people clearing 104 outstanding warrants.
August arrests
Note: W. Hawaii arrests are listed first
Andrew Beaudet 8-27 Kona
Brandon Smith 8-27 Kona
Gus Lum Won 8-27 Kona
Jason Leowoj 8-27 Kona
Allison Bickel 8-27 Kona
Frederick Puou 8-27 Kona
Daniel Estocado 8-27 Kona
Kimberly Citron 8-27 Kona
Salina Piko 8-27 Kona
Brandon Lum Won 8-27 Kona
Curtis Warner 8-27 Kona
Russell Fujino 8-27 Kona
Sean Gregory 8-28 Kona
Anderson Latrik 8-28 Kona
Kitty Zara 8-28 Kona
Antonio Camariillo 8-28 Kona
Kaohu Vanderhoek 8-28 Kona
Russell Kong Jr. 8-28 S. Kohala
Keoni Kong 8-28 S. Kohala
Steven Jossy 8-28 Kona
Ben Taketa 8-28 Kona
Samuel Akeo 8-28 Kona
Charles Kanouff 8-28 Kona
Ranthino Kios 8-28 S. Kohala
Solomon York 8-28 S. Kohala
Wayne Awai 8-28 S. Kohala
Lovelyn Yamamoto 8-28 S. Kohala
Christina Stafford 8-28 Kona
Shannon Cho 8-29 Kona
Chass Keka 8-29 Kona
Jessica Cordero 8-29 Kona
Darren Price 8-29 Kona
Cody Cabanatan-Machado 8-29 Kona
Joseph Narzisi 8-29 Kona
Bradley Halliwell 8-29 Kona
Patrick Enos 8-29 Kona
Lenford Jardine 8-27 Puna
Dustin Tomono 8-27 Hilo
James Lopes 8-27 Puna
William Moore 8-27 Hilo
Cherie Roer 8-27 Puna
Pearl Berdon 8-27 Puna
Todd Nobriga 8-27 Hilo
Tori Kaneshiro 8-27 Puna
Patrick Lindsey 8-27 Puna
David Apao 8-27 Puna
Jesse Murray 8-28 Hilo
Aaron Vincent 8-28 Hilo
Albert Gouveia Jr. 8-28 Hilo
James Rodrigues Jr. 8-28 Hilo
Fred Ramento 8-28 Hilo
Shon Thomas 8-28 Hilo
Ewalani Cluney 8-28 Hilo
Thomas Kema 8-28 Hilo
Rochelle Benevides 8-28 Hilo
Daris Garcia 8-28 Hilo
Chazlyn Tilfas 8-28 Hilo
Josiah Konanui 8-28 Hilo
Jonah Kahalewai 8-28 Hilo
Jessie Kekaualua 8-28 Hilo
Tracy Broussard 8-28 Hilo
Justin Bachiler 8-28 Hilo
Michael Ioane 8-28 Hilo
Deborah Aspili 8-29 Hilo
Kawehi Walters 8-29 Hilo
Marisa Sin 8-29 Hilo