Plea deal in the works in fentanyl case

A 35-year-old Centralia, Wash., man accused of possessing 4,000 fentanyl pills for distribution on the Big Island in December 2022 appears to be close to a federal plea deal.

Shane Taylor Bono appeared Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wes Porter in Honolulu.

Bono, who is free on federally supervised release — a form of cashless bail — told the judge he wasn’t ready to waive an indictment or enter a guilty plea to a felony information charge of intent to distribute fentanyl.

According to court records, the parties on Wednesday agreed that Bono would plead guilty to the charge on March 20 before U.S. District Senior Judge Helen Gillmor.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aislinn Affinito appeared Wednesday for the prosecution, while Honolulu attorney Myles Brenier represented Bono.

The case has had 14 postponements in its 25-month history, and records indicate that Bono — who told police when arrested that he was a “heavy user” of fentanyl, a narcotic reportedly about 100 times as lethal as heroin — has completed treatment at Sand Island Treatment Center on Oahu.

Bono was apprehended by Hawaii County police on Dec. 28, 2022, and was booked at the Hilo Police Station on suspicion of seven counts of promoting a dangerous drug, plus promoting a controlled substance near a school or park and driving with a suspended license.

The feds took over the case, however, and the state didn’t charge Bono.

The initial federal complaint charging Bono was filed on Dec. 30, 2022. The intent to distribute fentanyl charge carries a potential maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years behind bars.

According to the complaint, a search warrant for a silver Kia driven by Bono — who was pulled over in a traffic stop — turned up 2,550 blue pills with an M-30 imprint. The pills later tested positive for fentanyl disguised as oxycodone.

Also confiscated were approximately 4 grams of methamphetamine and two cellphones.

In addition, Bono was carrying $4,590 in cash, which was seized, according to the document.

The complaint doesn’t specify where the traffic stop occurred, but the traffic enforcement officer noticed Bono and another man sitting in the Kia in a parking lot “engaging in behavior that … amounted to a possible narcotics transaction.”

The document also states the man in the passenger seat got out of the Kia and into another vehicle.

Bono allegedly followed the other vehicle out of the parking lot and onto a street without using his turn signal, and the officer pulled him over after observing that Bono wasn’t using his seat belt.

The other suspect drove away and wasn’t apprehended at the time. It’s unclear if that individual has since been arrested and/or charged.

Capt. Rio Amon-Wilkins, commander of the East Hawaii Criminal Investigation Division, declined at the time to specify where the alleged drug transaction and traffic stop occurred, saying their case remained “an open investigation” with a suspect at large.

According to the federal complaint, Bono told police he flew from Seattle to Kailua-Kona on Dec. 23, 2022, and “acquired approximately 4,000 fentanyl tablets once he arrived.

Bono allegedly told officers he provided the fentanyl, 500 pills at a time, to a customer and sub-distributor referred to as “Person A” in the complaint.

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.