A 39-year-old Pahoa man will be extradited to Carson City, Nev., to face child pornography possession charges.
Patrick Jason Williams was arrested Monday by Hawaii Island police on an extradition warrant. He appeared Tuesday before 3rd Circuit Judge Glenn Hara and waived his right to an extradition hearing.
Williams is charged by the state of Nevada with 19 counts of possession of visual presentation depicting sexual conduct of persons under 16 years of age.
Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville asked the judge to order Williams be held without bail until Nevada authorities come to Hawaii to escort him back to face charges.
Deputy Public Defender Belinda Castillo Hall requested bail “in a nominal amount.” She said Williams was questioned last year by Nevada authorities but was not arrested or charged at that time.
Castillo Hall added that Williams’ 68-year-old mother lives in the Hawaiian Beaches subdivision, and her home is in the path of the June 27 lava flow from Kilauea volcano that is slowly moving toward Pahoa and surrounding areas.
“He has been helping her get situated,” Castillo Hall said. “It’s not as if he came here to escape or to flee justice. But nevertheless, your Honor, if there is a possibility for him to post bail we’re asking for it to be set.”
Hara denied bail for Williams. He also scheduled a hearing for 1 p.m. Nov. 17 in case the Carson City Sheriff’s Office — which placed Williams on its online “most wanted” list — doesn’t pick him up on the extradition warrant.
According to Nevada Revised Statutes, a first offense for the charges Williams faces is a category B felony punishable by not less than a year in prison, a maximum term of not more than 6 years imprisonment, and a fine of up to $5,000. Any subsequent offense is a category A felony punishable by not less than a year in prison, with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole and a fine of up to $5,000.
Williams is not listed in Nevada’s sex offender registry.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.