MEDIA RELEASE

Soloman Aloha Kepano

Hawai’i Island Police have charged a 30 year-old Hilo man with several offenses in connection with a theft of a tractor and trailer from a local business on Maka’ala Street last Wednesday (March 30).

On Friday evening (April, 1) after conferring with the prosecutor’s office, detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigation Section charged Soloman Aloha Kepano of Hilo with one count of first degree theft, one count of fourth degree theft, one count of third degree criminal property damage, four counts of second degree reckless endangering, five counts of accidents involving damage to vehicle or property and two counts of accidents involving damage to unattended vehicle or property.

Kepano’s bail was set at $9,100 and he remains at the police cellblock pending his initial court appearance scheduled for today (April 4).

Last Wednesday (March 30, 2016) at 7:17 pm, South Hilo patrol officers responded to a report of a tractor and trailer that struck two other vehicles and a residence on Pilipaʻa Street in Hilo. Bystanders saw Kepano allegedly walking away from the scene and restrained him until police arrived.

Police learned that the tractor, trailer, and its contents were stolen from a business on Makaʻala Street after it was observed driving through a closed gate. Police learned from witnesses that the stolen tractor and trailer also struck a vehicle and ran another vehicle off the road on Pilipaʻa Street before striking and severing a utility pole. The tractor and trailer continued southbound on Pilipaʻa Street when it ran off the street and struck a residence. Neither of the drivers of the vehicles nor the three occupants of the residence was injured.