18 year-old Chandsome Kawelo-Lewi was arrested and charged in relation to a criminal property damage and terroristic threatening incident that occurred at the Black Rock Café in Pahoa earlier this year.

According to police reports, Kawelo-Lewi is alleged to have punched and shattered a glass
window pane within close proximity to the complainants placing them in danger of bodily injury.

Yesterday afternoon, Kawelo-Lewi made his initial Hilo District Court appearance where over Prosecutors’ objections, his bail was reduced from $11,500.00 to $5,000.00. He was
ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing on Friday, April 5.

As the Complaint alleges, Kawelo-Lewi was charged with two counts of Criminal
Property Damage in the First Degree (intentionally damage property, a glass window, and
thereby recklessly placed another person in danger of bodily injury) and a single count each of
Terroristic Threatening in the Second Degree and Criminal Property Damage in the Fourth
Degree. Criminal Property Damage in the First Degree is a class B felony offense which carries
either a penalty of 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 Officers Robert Kamau and Calvin Furtado of HPD’s Puna Patrol, while the
felony investigation was handled by the Hawaiʻi County Police Department’s Crime Reduction Unit Area I Criminal Investigation Section.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Soong.

Photo credit: Hawaiʻi County Prosecuting Attorney