MEDIA RELEASE

Christiansan Ikaika Kaawa

A Kona man has been charged with three offenses after a truck was stolen earlier this month.

At 11:10 a.m. on June 14, a 61-year-old Kailua-Kona man reported that his pickup truck with an attached utility trailer had been stolen from an area near Hawaiʻi Belt Road and the Makalei Golf Course. Later that day the victim located the truck about two miles away. Some items from within were reported as missing.

Police investigation led to the identity of a suspect, 25-year-old Christiansan Ikaika Kaawa of Kailua-Kona.

Kaawa was arrested at 3 a.m. Monday (June 22) during a traffic stop on Ane Keohokalole Highway. He was taken to the Kona police cellblock while detectives from the Area II Criminal Investigations Section continued the investigation. During the investigation, detectives determined that Kaawa was also responsible for stealing an all-terrain vehicle that was reported stolen from Hōlualoa sometime between June 13 and June 15.

At 4:15 p.m. Tuesday (June 23) detectives charged him with second-degree theft and two counts of unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle. His bail was set at $6,000.

He remained in the cellblock until his initial court appearance on Wednesday (June 24).