January 6, 2023 at 6:43 PM (HST)
Hiro’s man faces several property and drug-related charges after he was found sleeping in a stolen truck.
After conferring with the Hawaii County Attorney’s Office, police charged 42-year-old Nathan Kalani Niihau on January 4 with:
- Unauthorized control of propulsion vehicles.
- First degree theft.
- Second degree robbery.
- Two counts of tertiary promotion of dangerous drugs.
- Two counts of wrongful possession of sensitive personal information.
- habitual property crime.
His bail was set at $95,000. Ni’ihau remained in police custody until his first court appearance on Thursday afternoon.
On January 3, South Hilo patrols responded to reports of suspicious vehicles parked on Novello Avenue in Hilo. Responding officers found a vehicle identified as a pickup truck belonging to the state of Hawaii. Niihau was sleeping in the driver’s seat of the truck.
He was arrested without incident and the car was recovered pending the execution of a search warrant.
During the course of the investigation, Hawaii Police Department Area I Special Enforcement Unit personnel determined that a truck was reportedly robbed on Dec. 27, 2022 on Lanikaula Avenue in Hilo.
Once the search warrant for the vehicle was served, officers recovered 1.64 grams of methamphetamine, 0.67 grams of heroin, and stolen identification cards from two separate individuals. In addition, police were able to identify Niihau as a suspect in the Ranikaura Street robbery in which a truck was stolen.