18 year-old Kaiea Fleming White of Kona was arrested and charged with robbery, possession of methamphetamine, credit card theft and other offenses related to the fraudulent use of a credit card.

The charges against Fleming White stem from an August 4 incident where he is alleged to have forcefully removed a 62 year-old man’s wallet from his pocket while at the Hilo Walmart Mc Donald’s. Later that day, Fleming White used the man’s credit cards at several Hilo establishments.

At the time of his arrest, Fleming-White was also arrested for a warrant stemming from an unrelated Hilo Circuit Court case.

Yesterday, he made his initial appearance in Hilo District Court where his bail was maintained at $129,000.00 and he was ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing on August 9.

As the Complaint alleges, Fleming-White was charged with Robbery in the Second Degree (in the course of committing theft, used force against another person), Theft in the Second Degree (exerted unauthorized control over the property of another, a wallet, where the property is commonly used to store items of monetary value), Theft in the First Degree (theft from the property of another from the person of another, whom is sixty years of age or older), Theft of Credit Card, Unauthorized Possession of Confidential or Personal Information, two counts of Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card, two counts of Identity Theft in the Third Degree, two counts of Theft in the Fourth Degree, and Promoting a Dangerous Drug in the Second Degree (possess one-eighth ounce or more of methamphetamine). Robbery in the Second Degree and Theft in the First Degree are both class B felony offenses punishable by either a ten year prison term or four years probation and up to eighteen months in jail.

The charges are merely allegations, and the Defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The case was initiated by South Hilo patrol officers Joshua Gouveia, Jesse Robert, Roland Kuamo‘o, and Ashton Gomes, while the felony investigation was led by Detective Kimo Keli‘ipa‘akaua of HPD’s Area I Criminal Investigation Section.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Malate.

 

Photo credit: Hawaiʻi County Prosecuting Attorney