Alleged bank robber indicted
A Kona grand jury on Monday indicted a 52-year-old Pahoa man accused of robbing a Hilo bank on Dec. 6.
The six-count indictment charges John Jason McCrary with first-degree robbery during a declared emergency, first-degree theft, second-degree terroristic threatening, second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, marijuana possession and illegally carrying ammunition.
According to court documents filed by police, on the morning of Dec. 6, McCrary entered Central Pacific Bank on Kilauea Avenue and handed a teller a note that read, “I will blow this bank up, don’t make you regret anything.”
McCrary allegedly answered “yes” when the teller asked if he wanted money. Documents state the teller, a 25-year-old woman, put about $21,170 on the counter, and the robber fled the bank on foot and wasn’t found in the area by responding police officers.
Two tellers identified McCrary, also known as Keoni Watson, from a photographic lineup, according to documents.
McCrary was arrested Dec. 8 as he was sitting in the driver’s seat of a green 2005 Ford Mustang, police said. That arrest was for an existing warrant for failure to appear in an unrelated case.
A search warrant was executed on the vehicle, and officers allegedly seized 14.4 grams of methamphetamine, 24.3 grams of marijuana and a 12-gauge shotgun shell.
A police statement said detectives also recovered “a large amount of currency.”
The amount of cash recovered isn’t specified in probable cause documents.
Prosecutors charged McCrary by complaint prior to the indictment, and he made his initial court appearance on Monday.
Hilo District Judge Jeffrey Hawk denied a defense motion to free McCrary — who has no prior felony convictions, according to court documents — on court-supervised release without cash bail.
Hawk maintained McCrary’s bail at $103,150 and ordered him to return today for a preliminary hearing. The indictment, however, moves McCrary’s case to Hilo Circuit Court, making a preliminary hearing unnecessary.
The most serious offense, first-degree robbery, is a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment.
McCrary remains in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
