Aloha Exchange Club President Dale Tokuuke presents an 'Officer of the Month' award to Detective Derek Morimoto

MEDIA RELEASE

The Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawai’i recognized Detective Derek Morimoto on Thursday (August 26) as “Officer of the Month” for August.

Morimoto, who is assigned to the Area I Criminal Investigations Section, was honored for his investigation of a crime spree that resulted in more than 50 police reports since the beginning of the year. The crimes included car break-ins, burglaries, thefts, identity thefts, forgeries and fraudulent use of credit cards.

Due to Morimoto’s coordination of all the cases, a newly-arrived Honoka’a man was charged with first-degree burglary, fraudulent use of a credit card, identity theft, forgery, accomplice to fraudulent use of a credit card, two counts of second-degree theft and two counts of first-degree accomplice to unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle. His initial bail was set at $105,000. Police cleared 22 additional auto break-in cases because of Detective Morimoto’s efforts.

As “Officer of the Month,” Morimoto is eligible for “Officer of the Year.”

The East Hawaii “Officer of the Month” award is a project of the Aloha Exchange Club of Hilo.