A 33-year-old Hilo man accused of several property crimes in connection with a Monday morning incident on Banyan Drive has been ordered to return to court Friday for a preliminary hearing.
In addition, Hilo District Judge Jeffrey Hawk maintained bail for Gregory Douglas Kama at $76,000.
Kama is charged with first-degree theft, unauthorized control of a stolen vehicle, third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, three counts of second-degree property damage, and a single count of fourth-degree property damage.
According to police, at about 8 a.m. Monday, officers responded to a trespassing report involving a man in a gray pickup truck in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Banyan Drive in Hilo.
Arriving officers say the driver, later identified as Kama, started up the truck, which was parked, and rapidly accelerated out of the parking lot without warning.
The truck, a 2020 Nissan Frontier reported stolen in Kona on Aug. 28, almost struck an employee at the complex. It crashed into a wooden barrel, a Ford F-150 maintenance truck, and two police vehicles — a black Dodge Charger belonging to Officer Alric Dalere and a red Toyota 4Runner belonging to Officer Noah Serrao.
The officers were not injured.
The vehicle fled on Banyan Drive before crashing into the gate of the Grand Naniloa Hotel, according to the documents. The driver abandoned the truck and fled on foot before being located and arrested by officers.
The most serious charge, first-degree theft, is a Class B felony carrying a potential 10-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors allege Kama is subject to extended terms of imprisonment as a persistent and multiple offender.
According to the complaint, Kama was convicted in 2015 of attempted second-degree promotion of a harmful drug and two counts of second-degree promotion of a harmful drug.
Kama remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
