HILO — A scheduled continuation of a pretrial hearing in the felony theft case of Mayor Billy Kenoi was called off, according to the chambers of Honolulu Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario.
The continued hearing was scheduled for Friday in Hilo, but a clerk for the judge said lawyers on both sides decided issues contained in pretrial motions were sufficiently settled, and the judge decided the court date wasn’t necessary.
Barring a plea deal or postponement, Kenoi is scheduled for trial Oct. 10 in Hilo before Del Rosario, who is hearing the case because all Big Island judges recused themselves.
Kenoi is charged with two counts each of second- and third-degree theft, three counts of falsifying a government record and a single count of making a false statement under oath. The charges stem from Kenoi’s misuse of a county-issued credit card, known as a purchasing card or pCard.
The theft and record falsifying charges cover the time frame of 2011-14, while the alleged false statement occurred Feb. 6, 2015.