Police auto theft task force nets two people

• 7 years ago

MEDIA RELEASE

Four days after the Hawaiʻi Police Department developed a task force to address the alarming number of auto thefts, two individuals were arrested.

At 1:30 p.m., (July 11), 19-year-old Christian Olivera and 24-year-old Jasmine Saragosa-Taoy were arrested without incident at a Hawaiian Paradise Park residence in Puna. They were taken to the Hilo cellblock while police continued the investigation.

During the investigation, police learned Christian Olivera was responsible for the following crimes:

• July 7, 2017, stole and operated a Honda Civic
• July 7, 2017, stole and operated a Honda Civic (a different vehicle)
• July 7, 2017, fled from police in a vehicle pursuit
• May 28, 2017, stole a Subaru coupe at gunpoint
• May 28, 2017, operated a stolen Subaru coupe
• May 28, 2017, pointed a rifle at a male party
• May 31, 2017, stole and operated a Toyota Tacoma
• April 28, 2017, stole and operated a Toyota Tacoma
• May 22, 2017, stole and operated a Toyota Tacoma
• June 21, 2017, stole and operated a Honda two-door hatchback
• May 6, 2017, stole and operated a Toyota Tacoma
• July 6, 2017, stole and operated a Honda Civic
• July 8, 2017, recklessly placed a police officer in danger or death of bodily injury
• July 8, 2017, recklessly placed a police officer in danger of death or bodily injury
• July 8, 2017, stole and operated a Honda Civic
• July 8, 2017, stole and operated a Subaru
• June 25, 2017, stole and operated a Honda Civic
• July 9, 2017, stole and operated a Toyota Tacoma

Police also learned Jasmine Saragosa-Taoy was responsible for the following crimes:

• July 7, 2017, stole and operated a Honda Civic
• July 7, 2017, stole and operated a Honda Civic (a different vehicle)
• May 31, 2017, stole and operated a Toyota Tacoma
  
  July 8, 2017, recklessly placed a police officer in danger or death of
• bodily injury
• July 11, 2017, possession of stolen credit cards
• July 11, 2017, theft of credit cards
• July 11, 2017, possession of confidential information
• July 11, 2017, theft of credit cards

At 7:10 p.m., (July 12) and after conferring with prosecutors, police charged Olivera with 13 counts of unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, three counts of resisting an order to stop, two counts of terroristic threatening and one count each of criminal property damage and robbery. His bail is set at $600,000.

Saragosa-Taoy was charged with hindering prosecution, two counts of credit card theft and two counts of unauthorized possession of confidential personal information. She was also charged with being an accomplice to Olivera in three counts of unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, one count of terroristic threatening and criminal property damage. Her bail is set at $115,000.

Both suspects remain at the Hilo cellblock pending their initial court appearance scheduled for Thursday afternoon (June 13) in District Court. Additional charges are pending as the investigation continues.

All charges are classified as felonies and involve vehicles that were stolen from the Puna, Hilo, Hāmākua, South Kohala and Kona districts. Investigators are continuing to examine these cases to determine if additional suspects are involved. The task force will continue to focus their attention on dismantling organized groups responsible for stealing cars.

Anyone with information about these incidents or any stolen vehicle is asked to call the Police Department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3111 or Sergeant James Correa of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 961-2272 or James.Correa@hawaiicounty.gov.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the island-wide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.00. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers does not record calls or subscribe to any Caller ID service. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.