Call it a Hele-On encore.
A 21-year-old Hilo man accused of stealing a Hele-On bus earlier this month has struck again, police said.
Kawelo Nakamura was arrested at about 6:45 a.m. Monday at the county Parks and Recreation Department’s Hoolulu Complex, where the bus was found, damaged, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported. He was charged with first-degree theft, driving a stolen vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident, criminal property damage and driving the bus without a commercial driver’s license.
He was on supervised release from the earlier case.
Hawaii County employees reported at 1:36 a.m. Monday that the lock on the gate to the Mass Transit Agency base yard on East Kawailani Street was cut and the gates were open, police said.
Reports indicated that a 42-passenger bus was stolen and may have been heading in the Hamakua direction over the Wailuku Bridge on Highway 19 and later on Queen Kaahumanu Highway near the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows.
At 6:24 a.m. police briefly pursued the bus after it was seen returning to Hilo on Bayfront Highway, but the pursuit was called off in the interest of public safety, police said.
The bus later was found behind Walter Victor Stadium. Police and crime lab technicians were surveying damage and processing the bus for evidence Monday.
Nakamura is also accused of stealing a bus Aug. 5 from the Mass Transit base yard and sideswiping a car on Railroad Avenue near Home Depot.
Kauai
Population of adoptable cats doubles at Humane Society
An unusually high cat population has put the Kauai Humane Society at full capacity.
While there are 160 dogs up for adoption — average for this time of year — what is odd is the plethora of cats, the Garden Island reported.
“We have twice the number of cats we normally have this time of year,” said Scott Pisani, executive director. “And we’ve been transferring more out and increasing adoptions.”
Right now there are 250 being cared for and available for adoption.
“We’re trying to figure out what’s happening,” Pisani said. But he speculated that community members are beginning to trust the Humane Society with their animals rather than adopting them out themselves.
