HILO — Two men and a woman were arrested Wednesday afternoon after an orchard owner blocked their pickup truck on a private road on his Kapoho property and called police to report two bags of his avocados were in the bed of the truck.
The owner of Kapoho Farm, identified in court documents as Robert Huelkamp, reportedly told police he saw the truck enter his property, which is fenced with private property signs, and return with two full bags of avocados, weighing 80 pounds.
Police arrested 49-year-old Max Mattos of Keaau, 33-year-old Kawika Nobriga and 30-year-old Sabrina Jaeger, both of Pahoa.
Court documents state Jaeger told officers Mattos and Nobriga went into the orchards and came back with the avocados, but Mattos reportedly told police he was looking for Nobriga’s dogs and found the bags of avocados on the ground.
Both men made their initial appearances Thursday in Hilo District Court.
Deputy Prosecutor Winston Albright requested that Mattos’ bail be maintained and described Mattos as a “career criminal defendant.”
“(His) last felony conviction was for (a firearms offense) in the year 2000, with a one-year jail sentence and five years probation.” Albright said. He also noted eight convictions for contempt of court, two each for fourth-degree theft and failure to appear, and another for marijuana possession.
In addition, Albright asked for substance abuse and mental health assessment and treatment for Mattos.
“We’re just concerned on … the bail report in this case as to the defendant admitting that currently he’s in treatment for methamphetamine (use) and diagnosed with manic depression,” Albright said.
Mattos’ attorney, Francis Alcain, asked for supervised release for his client, noting Mattos’ most recent offenses are more than a year-and-a-half old and most are three or more years in the past and “do not currently represent Mr. Mattos.”
Judge Harry Freitas maintained Mattos’ bail at $2,500 and ordered him to appear for a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. today.
Nobriga’s attorney, Christopher Bridges, also requested supervised release for his client, who also was being held on $2,500 bail.
“I have received the bail study; it does recommend supervised release,” Bridges told the judge. “It looks like this case, though it’s charged as a felony, looks like it might be an issue as to found property versus stolen property. In addition, my client has had no trouble since 2008, when he had a misdemeanor for family abuse.”
Freitas granted Nobriga’s request for supervised release over the prosecution’s objection and ordered Nobriga to return for a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. Sept. 12.
Jaeger was arrested on a bench warrant and charged with contempt of court. She was released after posting $300 bail and ordered to appear in court Sept. 29.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.