Hawaii County prosecutors announced auto theft and felony drug charges Thursday against a 31-year-old Puna man.

Curtis K. Brown III was arrested and charged with the theft of a Chrysler minivan, reported stolen on Nov. 29 from the Black Sands Subdivision in Pahoa.

Police reports show that at the time it was stolen, the minivan was parked on Upper Puna Road due to a flat tire on Thanksgiving Day.

Puna patrol officers stopped Brown Tuesday during a traffic stop after noticing his rear license plate had been altered with black tape.

Officers executed a narcotics search warrant on the vehicle and recovered two glass smoking pipes containing a substance that tested “presumptive positive” for methamphetamine, police said.

They also recovered a zip packet with a substance that also tested presumptive positive for cocaine.

Brown made his initial appearance Thursday in Hilo District Court, and bail was maintained at $55,000.

His preliminary hearing was set for Monday.

Brown is charged with first-degree theft (for the theft of the minivan), first-degree unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle and two counts of third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug.

First-degree theft is a class B felony, which carries a penalty of a 10-year prison term or four years of probation and up to eighteen months in jail.

The other charges are punishable by five years in prison or four years’ probation and up 12 months in jail.

Anyone with information to assist local law enforcement is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 808-961-8300.