Bail reduced for couple accused of stealing elderly woman’s car

A judge reduced bail for a Hilo couple accused of stealing an elderly woman’s vehicle from the Home Depot parking lot.

Hilo District Judge Bruce Larson on Monday reduced bail for 21-year-old Kade Kekoa Kapika-Overturf and 26-year-old Shayla Keani Faatasiga Kamahele to $21,000 each.

Kapika-Overturf’s bail originally was $47,000 and Kamahele’s was $46,000.

The bail reductions were despite the objection of Deputy Prosecutor Kevin Soong.

Kapika-Overturf is charged with auto theft, first- and second-degree theft, second-degree criminal trespassing and driving without a license.

Kamahele is charged with auto theft, first-degree theft, second-degree theft and driving without a driver’s license.

According to police, on April 16, officers responded to a retail establishment on Makaala Street in Hilo for a report that the couple was inside the store despite having previously been served trespass notices, prohibiting them from being on the store premises.

Store security observed them getting out of a vehicle in the parking lot. Officers later determined the vehicle had been reported stolen from the parking lot of another retail establishment on Makaala Street on March 29. Prosecutors identified that business as Home Depot.

Kapika-Overturf and Kamahele were both arrested, and the vehicle was recovered as evidence.

Kamahele waived a preliminary hearing and was ordered to appear May 5 in Hilo Circuit Court.

A preliminary hearing began Wednesday for Kapika-Overturf. He is scheduled to return for a continuation of the hearing on April 28.

Both remain in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of bail.

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
Source: Hawaii Tribune Herald