6 months for repeat offender

KAILUA-KONA — A Hilo man charged with a string of crimes, some committed while on probation, was sentenced to six months in jail.

Jeffrey “Tim” DeCastro Jr., 30, was most recently arrested after fleeing from a traffic stop of the car he reportedly stole.

It marked the tail end of a recent string of offenses that began when he was charged with violation of an order of protection, first-degree terroristic threatening and harassment. That case entered 3rd Circuit Court on Nov. 17, 2014. He pleaded guilty to the harassment charge on April 13, 2015, and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

But on June 19, 2015, he was back in jail, after police arrested him on an unlawful control of a propelled vehicle charged in Clem Akina Park in Hilo.

The jeep was covered in a layer of primer, missing its front license plate and with a rear plate from a silver 2007 Hyundai van. Officer John Balberde noticed DeCastro near the Jeep and parked his police car to wait. DeCastro approached and asked if the officer was “following or spying on him,” according to the judge’s findings.

During their talk, DeCastro told Balberde he got the car from a woman, who Balberde knew was a suspect in the theft of a Jeep. DeCastro said he knew she was involved in numerous auto thefts, but he did not steal it.

Balberde summarized their talk as “…(DeCastro) had gone to the house and taken the Jeep. At this time, she was spray-painting it brown. He had gotten word she had taken his white Toyota truck, so he thought there was nothing wrong with taking the Jeep from her. He had no knowledge at that time that the Jeep was stolen, but determined that it was only fair that if she took his truck, he take her car.”

DeCastro explained his reasoning in a transcript of his statement as: “Yeah, I told her, give me back my car, I give her back the Jeep and she told me to just take the Jeep.”

Sick of people telling him the jeep was stolen, he covered the brown primer with a layer of black.

The victim told police that it was her Jeep, although the paint and rims were changed and the rear tire cover, which had said “Life is Great” was gone. She also reported that a massage table, laptop and two digital cameras were stolen.

She believed someone took her keys out of her bag while she was swimming on the morning of June 12 at Kailua Pier, and then took the vehicle.

DeCastro remained on probation in the initial case, with repeated violations for drug use and failure to meet with his probation officer. Then police saw him again when he was arrested as a passenger of a 2014 black Nissan Versa on July 14 that had been reported stolen near Hilo.

He said he’d arranged to rent the car for the day on July 12, paying off the lien on a cellphone. He tried to the return the car that afternoon, he said he told police, but could not locate the man he rented it from. The victim told police that DeCastro never showed.

He then drove the car out of Hilo and kept it until the arrest in Kona, according to the statement.

The woman who was driving, Cherise King, 35, of Kailua-Kona, told police she’d been picked up at the Home Depot parking lot. She took over driving from DeCastro because he was tired and asked her to drive.

When they stopped on Henry Street, King told the officer she did not have a license and he began to handcuff her. Then DeCastro fled and was later captured.

DeCastro was charged with unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle in the case. He was also charged with contempt of court and four counts of discharge of sureties stemming from the other cases.

He pleaded guilty on April 21 and was sentenced to six months incarceration.