State prosecutors say in January and April, a 34-year-old man drove away from three Honolulu car dealerships with luxury vehicles by passing bad checks.
Two of the automobiles were late-model Mercedes- Benzes and the other a BMW sports utility vehicle.
An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment Tuesday charging Robert Leroy Coleman Jr. with multiple counts of first-degree theft, attempted first-degree theft and unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle.
Circuit Judge Shirley Kawamura set Coleman’s bail at $50,000.
Deputy Prosecutor Paul Galindo told Kawamura that on Jan. 4, Coleman walked into Mercedes-Benz of Honolulu, presented a check for $131,244 and drove off in a 2019 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG four-door sedan. Then on Jan. 18, Coleman allegedly presented a check for $45,439 at Autosource and drove off in a 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 four-door sedan.
Galindo said on April 1, Coleman went to 21K Motors, presented a check for $21,701 and drove off in a 2012 BMW X5 SUV.
The checks Coleman presented for the two Mercedes-Benz sedans were from a Wells Fargo account that had been closed in December, Galindo said. The check Coleman presented for the BMW was from a closed First Hawaiian Bank account that Coleman had opened with a check from the closed Wells Fargo account.
In each case, Galindo said Coleman provided the dealerships with his true name and other information, which the dealerships used to contact Coleman after they learned that the checks he gave them were worthless. He said despite the dealerships’ requests, Coleman never paid them the money he owed. The dealerships were able to recover the vehicles.
Coleman was already charged in two cases involving unauthorized use of vehicles, one in Kona and another on Oahu.
In the Kona case, Coleman is accused of driving a rental vehicle off the Avis lot at the Kona International Airport on March 21 without permission. Police said when they caught up with him, Coleman told the officers he took the vehicle because he didn’t want to walk. A state judge in Kona issued a $3,000 warrant for Coleman’s arrest after he failed to appear for an April 17 court hearing.
On that date Coleman was charged in Honolulu in a case involving a Choice Automotive pickup truck that he took for a test drive three days earlier. He is free in that case after posting $11,000 bail.
Galindo told Kawamura that Coleman is unemployed and doesn’t have a permanent address but receives support from his family. He said Coleman also travels to and from the neighbor islands.
Coleman has also had criminal charges filed against him on Maui and Kauai.
Correction: An earlier version of this story says the man drove away from Honolulu car dealerships with three luxury vehicles in January.
