MEDIA RELEASE
Noa Mamala
An Ocean View man has been charged with seven offenses after being found in a stolen county vehicle.
On Thursday (August 25), officers responded to a 6:38 a.m. report of a burglary at an office of the Department of Public Works on the 81-6300 block of Highway 11 in South Kona. They learned that the building had been forced open and that keys to a 2003 Ford F350 truck had been taken and used to remove the truck from the base yard.
Friday afternoon (August 26), officers responded to a report of a suspicious man in a large pickup truck in the Hawaiian Ocean View Estates subdivision. Arriving officers located the truck and identified it as the stolen county vehicle. They arrested the driver, 25-year-old Noa Mamala of Ocean View. During his arrest, he was found to be in possession of methamphetamine. He was taken to the Kona police cellblock while detectives from the Area II Criminal Investigations Section continued the investigation.
At 3 p.m. Sunday (August 28), Mamala was charged with use of a government vehicle prohibited, unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, promoting a dangerous drug, possessing drug paraphernalia, failure to appear and two counts of contempt of court. His bail was set at $32,300.
He remained in the cellblock until his initial court appearance on Monday (August 29).