Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen announced that a Hilo man, 51 year-old Duke Kaleolani Malakaua, was sentenced to a ten-year prison term in Hilo Circuit Court on Thursday for the offenses of Attempted Promoting a Dangerous Drug in the Second Degree and Unauthorized Control of a Propelled Vehicle in the First Degree.

On November 9, 2023 Malakaua appeared in Hilo Circuit Court where he entered “Guilty” pleas to Attempted Promoting a Dangerous Drug in the Second Degree and Unauthorized Control of a Propelled Vehicle in the First Degree. The offenses stemmed from incidents involving the theft of a Chevrolet pickup, originally reported stolen from a business located on Olowalu Street in Kona between August 9-10, 2023 and the attempted distribution of methamphetamine after being observed by police to be operating the same Chevrolet pickup on September 2, 2023 near the Hilo Armory. After obtaining a narcotics search warrant for the pickup, VICE officers recovered over 19 grams of methamphetamine broken down into distributable amounts and various drug paraphernalia including 42 clean/unused clear Ziploc type packets.

Attempted Promoting a Dangerous Drug in the Second Degree is a class B felony which carries a maximum penalty of a ten-year prison term. Unauthorized Control of a Propelled Vehicle in the First Degree is a class C felony which carries a maximum penalty of a five-year prison term.

The theft case was initiated by Kona Patrol. The arrest was made by South Hilo Patrol and the felony drug investigation was led by the Area I VICE Section, Hawai‘i Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Elyssa Correia Keltner.

The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney remains dedicated to the pursuit of justice with integrity and commitment. Anyone having information to assist local law enforcement should call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.