Three charged for passing bad checks

From left; Soares, Kurashiga, Palakiko and Miyake-Kamahele. (Photo compilation courtesy HPD/Special to West Hawaii Today)
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Working in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Secret Service, detectives with Hawaii Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Section (CIS) located and apprehended four individuals wanted on multiple counts of forgery within the Kailua-Kona area, police announced Friday.

Two men and two women from Kailua-Kona are responsible for the creation and dissemination of fraudulent business checks throughout the Kailua-Kona area, dating back to February of this year, resulting in the theft of an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency from various businesses and banks.

The two women, 42-year-old Lealofitaute Soares and 25-year-old Bailey Kurashige, and one of the men, 30-year-old Chandler Palakiko, were arrested and charged on Tuesday. The second man, 26-year-old Lane Miyake-Kamahele, was arrested and charged on Wednesday, Nov. 10.

Miyake-Kamahele, Soares, Kurashige, and Palakiko were each charged with one count each first-degree forgery and criminal conspiracy. Each of them had bail set at $17,000. After their initial court appearances, all four received supervised release.

Anyone who may have additional information on the incidents to contact Detective Tyler Prokopec of the Area II Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 326-4646, ext. 224, or email at tyler.prokopec@hawaiicounty.gov.