A Hilo man who allegedly evaded police for more than 20 months entered a not-guilty plea in federal court Monday to allegations that he worked as a gun- toting methamphetamine and fentanyl dealer on Hawaii island.

Eddie P. Poai, 46, was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, three counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine.

He entered a plea of not guilty to each count, and his trial is set for 9 a.m. Jan. 4 before Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway.

Assistant U.S. Attorney W. Keaupuni Akina is prosecuting the case for the government. Poai is represented by attorney Richard D. Gronna. Neither Akina nor Gronna immediately replied to Honolulu Star- Advertiser requests for comment.

Poai has more than 130 prior criminal and traffic citations at the state level since 1994 and served at least five years in prison for a 2014 car theft conviction, according to state court records.

At about 3:30 a.m. Feb. 11, 2021, Hawaii police saw a black Toyota extended-cab pickup truck with a passenger-side rear taillight that was out while it traveled northbound on Kanoelehua Avenue in Hilo, according to federal court documents. A check of the license plate number found that it was fake, and the officer pulled over Poai.

The car was registered to a relative sharing Poai’s name. Poai admitted to the officer that he did not have a driver’s license, insurance or registration in the vehicle.

The officer issued numerous traffic citations to Poai and had the car towed. Poai left the scene of the traffic stop on foot.

When the tow truck driver arrived to take away the car, a Hawaii police officer “observed a firearm magazine and rear night sights protruding from the passenger front seat, rear pocket,” according to an affidavit from a Hawaii police detective attached to an Oct. 27 federal criminal complaint.

The officer checked the firearm and discovered that it was a “HI Point, Model JHP .45 caliber pistol bearing serial number X405935, with a fourteen (14) round capacity magazine inserted.” The officer expelled the chambered round and found seven left in the magazine.

The black pickup was towed to the Hilo Police Station while investigators awaited the approval of an application for a search warrant.

A search of the truck allegedly turned up plastic bags containing about 102.46 grams of pure methamphetamine; 14 clear, unused zip packets; and a digital scale, all inside a black Craftsman bag. Officers also allegedly found brass knuckles on the dashboard near the driver’s side of the truck, and two pipes containing methamphetamine residue.

An investigator with the National Insurance Crime Bureau helped Hawaii police learn that the truck was reported stolen on Dec. 21, 2020.

On June 9, Hawaii police officers did a warrant sweep in Puna, and at 11:45 a.m. they went looking for Poai at a property on Kaluahine Street.

An officer searching the property looked under a blue pop-up tent and saw “a black and red motorcycle, a gray speaker box, a camouflage-colored backpack, a black PVC pipe capped on both ends, and a gallon size zip lock bag containing a green plant type substance” believed to be cannabis.

At 5:30 p.m. that day, officers executed a search warrant at the property and found that the black PVC pipe contained 612.3 grams of pure methamphetamine, the green camouflage backpack had 38.9 grams of methamphetamine in it, 306 “M30” pills containing 33 grams of fentanyl, and one HS Produkt model XDS, .45-caliber pistol.

Also on the property was a “derelict” black Dodge Ram 1500 with no license plates. In the truck, officers found a black Mossberg Model 930 12-gauge shotgun. In a plastic container they found a .22-caliber revolver and more than 400 rounds of assorted ammunition. Under the tent they also found a DPMS A-15 semi-automatic rifle.

The .45-caliber pistol was reported stolen “in connection with a residential armed robbery on April 27,” and the shotgun was “reported in connection with an armed burglary that was reported on January 30,” according to the federal complaint.

A mobile phone found on the property was linked to a state inmate who allegedly listed Poai as a contact.

On Oct. 25, 2022, Hawaii police officers swept the Mountain View and Kurtis­town areas looking for suspects with outstanding warrants. At about 3:10 p.m. that day, officers saw Poai run off into the brush with a backpack at a property in Kurtistown. Officers arrested Poai and found $4,000 in cash and a pipe with methamphetamine residue in it.

A search warrant executed on the backpack revealed a Taurus Model G2A, 9-mm pistol loaded with nine rounds in the magazine, three loose rounds of .22-caliber ammunition and about 11 grams of methamphetamine.

Both .45-caliber pistols and the 9-mm handgun were identified as weapons that would have to be shipped to Hawaii, creating a nexus for federal prosecutors to proceed.