Waimea man charged in alleged stalking incident

A 55-year-old Waimea man has been charged with eight offenses in connection with a harassment by stalking incident that reportedly occurred last week.

Tuesday afternoon, John Amina was charged with first-degree criminal property damage, first-degree terroristic threatening, harassment by stalking, second-degree reckless endangering, reckless driving, promoting a dangerous drug, possessing drug paraphernalia and driving without a license, according to the Hawaii County Police Department. He was released after posting $14,750 bail on Wednesday.

The charges stem from Dec. 17, when police received several calls reporting that a green sedan was being chased through Waimea by a green Dodge van. Investigation revealed that the driver of the van attempted to pull over the new boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend to instigate a fight.

The van attempted to block the car and collided with it on several occasions until the victim was able to make his way to the parking lot of the Waimea police station, according to police. At that time, the suspect fled in the van.

On Monday, South Kohala patrol officers, who were conducting a seat belt enforcement operation in Waimea, stopped the suspect in the Dec. 17 incident, and arrested him on suspicion of five counts of first-degree terroristic threatening, one count each of criminal property damage, reckless driving, accident involving a vehicle and property, harassment by stalking, driving without a license, promoting a detrimental drug, two counts each of promoting a dangerous drug and possessing drug paraphernalia, according to police.