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Hawaii island police say high-speed pursuit led to drug, traffic arrests

COURTESY PHOTOS
                                Dylan J.K. Naope, left, and Cherise K. King led Hawaii island police on a high-speed pursuit on Daniel K. Inouye Highway on Veterans Day. They were later arrested for traffic and drug crimes.
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COURTESY PHOTOS

Dylan J.K. Naope, left, and Cherise K. King led Hawaii island police on a high-speed pursuit on Daniel K. Inouye Highway on Veterans Day. They were later arrested for traffic and drug crimes.

Hawaii island police said a high-speed pursuit on Daniel K. Inouye Highway on Veterans Day led to traffic and drug arrests.

Police charged the driver, Dylan J.K. Naope, 28, of Hilo, with numerous traffic offenses, along with other charges, and his passenger, Cherise King, 39, of Hilo, with drug offenses.

Police said at about 10 a.m. on Monday, officers conducting a traffic enforcement project on the highway near Mauna Kea Access Road spotted a black 2002 Dodge pickup with an expired safety inspection sticker.

An officer stepped out from the shoulder to direct the driver to pull over, but Naope crossed over a double, solid yellow line, overtook multiple vehicles through the no passing zone, and sped off, police said.

Officers immediately pursued the fleeing suspect, with the chase extending 20 miles as the pickup reached speeds of 100 mph.

Police said they stopped from the pursuit when the pickup truck turned off onto Kaumana Drive above Hilo, but officers remained in the area.

A short time later, a member of the public gave police a tip of a pickup truck speeding through a Kaumana City subdivision.

Police located the Dodge pickup partially covered by a tarp at a home there, and found Naope and King hiding in a storage room downstairs.

Officers searched the pickup and a purse after obtaining a warrant and found a smoking pipe and baggie with trace amounts of methamphetamine.

Police charged Naope with resisting an order to stop, reckless driving, excessive speeding, driving without an operator license, and driving without vehicle insurance.

Naope’s total bail for traffic offenses was set at $15,000, but with two probation revocation warrants and a criminal contempt of court warrant, his total bail was set at $23,000, according to police.

Police charged King, the female passenger, with promoting a dangerous drug in the third degree and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her bail was set at $10,250.

Both suspects have been unable to post bail and remain in custody in Hilo pending their court appearances.

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