Hawai‘i Island police have arrested and charged a Hilo couple with the theft of an elderly woman’s vehicle.
On Friday evening, April 16, 2021, South Hilo Patrol officers responded to a retail establishment on Maka‘ala Street in Hilo for a report that 21-year-old Kade Kekoa Kapika-Overturf and 26-year-old Shayla Keani Fa’atasiga Kamahele were within the store and had previously been served trespass notices, prohibiting them from being on the store premises.
During the course of the initial investigation, store security observed Kapika-Overturf and Kamahele exiting a vehicle in the parking lot. Officers later determined the vehicle had been reported stolen from the parking lot of another retail establishment on Maka‘ala Street on March 29, 2021.
Kapika-Overturf and Kamahele were both arrested and the vehicle was recovered as evidence.
On Sunday, April 18, 2021, after conferring with county prosecutors, detectives charged Kapika-Overturf and Kamahele with theft and other related offenses.
Kapika-Overturf was charged with second-degree criminal trespass, unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle (UCPV), first-degree theft, second-degree theft, and driving without a driver’s license. His bail was set at $47,000. Kamahele was charged with unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, first-degree theft, second-degree theft, and driving without a driver’s license. Her bail was set at $46,000.
Both individuals remained in police custody pending their initial court appearance on Monday afternoon, April 19, 2021, where their bail was reduced.
Police want to remind the public that in light of Governor David Ige’s current Covid-19 emergency proclamation, that there are enhanced penalties for certain offenses, including, but not limited to, burglary, theft, criminal property damage, and robbery.