As the Complaint alleges, Castillas, a repeat offender with three (3) prior felony convictions, was charged with Burglary in the Second Degree, Burglary During an Emergency Period, Habitual Property Crime (two or more prior felony convictions within the last ten (10) years), Criminal Property Damage in the First Degree, Theft in the First Degree, Criminal Trespass in the First Degree, Ownership and Possession Prohibited (ammunition), Promoting a Dangerous Drug in the Second Degree (possession of over an eighth of an ounce of methamphetamine), and Prohibited Acts Related to Drug Paraphernalia.
The charges stem from an incident on Saturday, July 24, shortly before 11:00 a.m., when Puna patrol officers responded to a suspicious vehicle call at a church on Pahoa Village Road in Pahoa. Upon arrival, officers located the vehicle and observed numerous battery-powered tools, a generator, spray paint cans, and other miscellaneous items within.
Around this same time, police dispatch received a report of a burglary at a private school in Pahoa, in which it was reported that tools had been stolen. Due to the close proximately of the vehicle at the church and the school, officers requested school faculty members to respond to assist in identifying the items within the vehicle; the tools appeared to be stolen from the school.
The suspect of the burglary was captured on video surveillance, which officers were able to view.
A short time later, officers observed a male walking on Pahoa Village Road who matched the description of the suspect captured on video surveillance. Officers contacted this individual and confirmed his identity as Castillas. He spontaneously stated to officers that he was looking for his vehicle; a vehicle that matched the description of the vehicle at the church. Castillas was arrested and transported to the Pahoa Police Station. Upon conducting a search incident to arrest, he was found to have approximately 11.8 grams of methamphetamine and 2.4 grams of marijuana on his person.
The vehicle was recovered and detectives with the Area I Criminal Investigation Section obtained a search warrant. Upon execution of the warrant, detectives confirmed the identity of the stolen items. They also recovered live ammunition, which Castillas is prohibited from possessing.
A review of Court Records indicates that in June 2020, Castillas was sentenced to 4 years Probation for the Burglary of Hawai’i Academy of Arts and Sciences in October 2019. On June 19, 2021, last week he appeared in custody from a bench warrant in Circuit Court for a revocation of supervised release he was again granted supervised release from Judge Peter K. Kubota over Prosecutors’ objections. Even though Court records show that part of the conditions of Castillas release was a Drug assessment and he did not show up to his appointment.
Today in Court, an oral motion was made by the Public Defender for Supervised Release or bail reduction. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Soong standing in for Ha’aheo Kaho’ohalahala made an objection for the State. The motion for supervised release was denied by Judge Jeffrey Hawk. Bail maintained at $146,000 Next court appearance will be on July 29, 2021, at 02:00
The investigation was handled by Detective Scotty Aloy, Hawai‘i Police Department, Area I Criminal Investigation Section. The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ha’aheo Kaho’ohalahala
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 in East Hawai‘i or (808) 329-8181 in West Hawai‘i.
