Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen announced that 38 year-old Lataja Andrade of Puna was arrested and charged in relation to the theft of a Ford Fusion originally reported stolen from the Island Wide Motors parking lot in Hilo on August 14, 2024. Andrade was arrested by Puna Patrol officers on November 26, 2024 after being contacted in possession of the Ford Fusion on Kauakahi Place in Pahoa. Following the execution of a search warrant upon the vehicle, officers recovered over four grams of methamphetamine within a zip packet, a sharps container with five syringes, including one containing approximately 30 units of a liquid which tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine, and a glass smoking pipe.

Andrade made her initial appearance in Hilo District Court on Friday afternoon. Her bail was maintained at $36,000.00 and she was ordered to appear for preliminary hearing on December 3, 2024.

As the Complaint alleges, Andrade is charged with Theft in the First Degree (theft of a motor vehicle, a Ford Fusion), Unauthorized Control of a Propelled Vehicle in the First Degree, Promoting a Dangerous Drug in the Second Degree (possess more than one-eighth of an ounce of methamphetamine), Promoting a Dangerous Drug in the Third Degree, and Place to Keep
Ammunition.

Theft in the First Degree and Promoting a Dangerous Drug in the Second Degree are both class B felony offenses which carry a penalty of either a ten-year prison term or four years probation and up to eighteen months in jail.

The charges are merely allegations, and the Defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.