KEALAKEKUA — A Kailua-Kona man and woman accused of drug possession made their first appearances in court Friday morning, where their charges and bail were amended slightly.
KEALAKEKUA — A Kailua-Kona man and woman accused of drug possession made their first appearances in court Friday morning, where their charges and bail were amended slightly.
Michelle Wright, 43, and Samson Keanaaina, 53, were arrested at the Old Kona Airport Beach Park after a search warrant served on a homeless campsite Wednesday yielded a variety of illicit drugs and cash.
Wright and Keanaaina, both of whom don’t have permanent addresses, were in custody when they went before the judge in District Court.
Both suspects were booked on 12 charges that varied from promoting dangerous drugs, to promoting detrimental drugs, to drug paraphernalia and promoting controlled substances in a park. Each was held on $166,000 bail.
On Friday, the charges were amended.
Keanaaina now faces 10 charges, including 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 promoting controlled substances in a park.
Deputy Public Defender Frederick Macapinlac argued to reduce bail to $10,000 and recommended supervised release.
Deputy Prosecutor Kori Weinberger opposed the move. She said the charges are serious offenses and allowing Keanaaina out on supervised release does increase the potential for flight risk.
Keanaaina’s bail was reduced to $131,000 to reflect his current charges.
Wright is now facing eight charges, including 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 promoting controlled substances in a park.
As Wright is a co-defendant of Keanaaina, Macapinlac said, it was a conflict of interest to represent her since he was representing Keanaaina. However, the lawyer said Wright did qualify for a public defender.
Macapinlac also argued for a reduced bail of $10,000 and supervised release for Wright. Both were denied.
Her bail was set to $126,000 to reflect the amended charges.
Both Wright and Keanaaina are due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Monday where prosecutors will work to show they have probable cause to support the charges in Circuit Court.