Traffic stop leads to 11 charges against Hawaii island man
A 21-year-old Mountain View man is facing numerous criminal charges — including five felonies — following a routine traffic stop on Tuesday.
Isaac Rosa was stopped on Ihope Road about 12:45 p.m. when patrol officers noticed that the pickup truck that he was driving did not have a rear license plate. The officers, who upon inspection of the truck also determined that it did not have a vehicle identification number, arrested Rosa on suspicion of altering a motor vehicle serial number.
Further investigation later revealed that the truck had been stolen in a warehouse burglary on Stainback Highway in February and that Rosa had been an accomplice in a burglary at another warehouse on Wiliama Street in Keaau on March 24. A sedan stolen in that burglary incident was used later that day in the theft of a pickup truck on Kakau Street in Hilo.
In addition, Rosa was also linked to the theft of a John Deere all-terrain vehicle on March 18 in Honomu.
Police recovered all three stolen vehicles and the ATV.
On Thursday, police charged Rosa with three counts of unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, second-degree burglary, accomplice to first-degree theft, second-degree criminal property damage, accomplice to fourth-degree criminal property damage, driving without a license, driving without insurance, and altering a motor vehicle serial number.
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The accomplice to first-degree theft, a B-class felony, was enhanced from accomplice to second-degree theft because Puna was under a disaster declaration when the theft occurred.
Rosa’s aggregate bail was set at $16,775.
Police ask anyone with information about the March 24 warehouse burglary on Wiliama Street in Keaau or the identity of the second suspect to call the Police Department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide CrimeStoppers number at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.