Hawaiʻi Police Department
Criminal Investigations Section, Area I
Lieutenant Gregory Esteban
Phone: 961-2252
Report No. C14012805
Hiram Kawelu
Media Release
One Hilo man is being held on a felony charge and another has been release from police custody in connection with a stolen truck that crashed Sunday morning (May 18).
The crash occurred in the Volcano area under the federal jurisdiction of the National Park Service. After the driver, 25-year-old Hiram Kawelu of Hilo and his passenger, 22-year-old Cole Evans-Tanigawa appeared in court on federal charges Monday (May 19), detectives from the Hawaiʻi Police Department arrested them for being in possession of a stolen vehicle and stolen items. Both men were taken to the Hilo police cellblock while detectives continued the investigation.
The pickup truck was reported stolen from Hilo on May 14. A generator, fishing poles with reels and a cooler were reported stolen from a campsite at South Point early Sunday morning (May 18). In addition, several vehicles were broken into at the entrance to Kawa Beach in Nāʻālehu the same morning.
At 1:30 Wednesday (May 21) Kawelu was charged with unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle. His bail was set at $10,000. He remains at the cellblock pending his initial court appearance scheduled for Thursday (May 22).
Evans-Tanigawa was released pending further investigation.