KAILUA-KONA — Police have charged a 28-year-old Hilo man with numerous traffic violations following a high-speed pursuit on Monday on Daniel K. Inouye Highway.
At about 10 a.m. that day, Hawaii Police Department officers were conducting a traffic enforcement project on the highway near the Maunakea Access Road intersection when a black 2002 Dodge pickup was spotted heading toward Hilo with an expired safety inspection sticker.
As an officer stepped out from the shoulder attempting to direct the driver to pull over, police said Wednesday that the Dodge pickup drove left, crossing over the double solid yellow line and overtook multiple vehicles in the no-passing zone near the temporary traffic light, and then rapidly picked up speed.
Officers pursued the fleeing suspect and radioed to another officer posted ahead. The subsequent police pursuit extended 20 miles with the Dodge pickup reaching speeds of 100 mph and at times driving down the center of both lanes of travel, police said. Police disengaged from the pursuit when the pickup truck turned off onto the old Saddle Road (Kaumana Drive) above Hilo, but remained in the area and conducted further checks.
A tip from the public a short time later of a truck speeding through a neighborhood led officers to the Dodge pickup partially covered by a tarp at a residence in the Kaumana subdivision, police said. A check of the residence located a man and woman in a storage room on the downstairs portion of the house. The Dodge pickup truck was recovered as evidence and towed.
Both suspects did not live at the home but were stated to be acquaintances of the resident, police said. The man was identified as a Dylan J.K. Naope of Hilo and the woman as 39-year-old Cherise King, also of Hilo.
A search warrant was served on the Dodge pickup and a purse that reportedly resulted in the recovery of a smoking pipe and small bag containing trace amounts of methamphetamine.
Upon conferring with prosecutors, police charged Naope with first-degree resisting and order to stop, reckless driving, two counts excessive speeding, driving without a license and failure to have no fault motor vehicle insurance. Bail was set at $15,000. He was also arrested and charged with two probation revocation warrants ($2,000 and $5,000 bail) and a criminal contempt of court warrant ($1,000 bail), his total bail combining his traffic offense and warrants totaled $23,000.
King was subsequently charged with third-degree promoting a dangerous drug and possessing drug paraphernalia. Her bail was set at $10,250.
