Man arrested driving stolen car, say police

WAILUKU — A man was arrested early Tuesday when he was stopped while driving a car that was reported stolen from a Kahului parking lot, according to police.

Elika Cummings, 29, was charged with unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle and habitual property crime.

He was arrested after police conducted a traffic stop at 1:14 a.m. Tuesday on a silver Toyota Camry with a broken tail light at Maui Veterans Highway and North Kihei Road, according to a declaration filed in court to support the charges.

The owner had parked the car in the Lowe’s parking lot at 2 a.m. Monday before returning at 5 a.m. to find the vehicle missing, Deputy Prosecutor Jeffery Temas said during Cummings’ initial appearance Wednesday in Wailuku District Court. Temas said that when police stopped the car, it had a different license plate. In the vehicle, police found methamphetamine and marijuana, he said.

He asked for bail to be increased from $1,000 to $2,000 for Cummings, who has 12 prior convictions, including two for felony offenses. One felony conviction is from Arizona, Temas said.

Deputy Public Defender William Pannell asked that Cummings be released to post bail.

He said he could post bail by noon today.

Judge Kirstin Hamman said she was considering a state Supreme Court order issued in the pandemic that encourages courts to release inmates charged with certain offenses unless they pose a significant risk to public health or safety.

Temas said a dangerous situation could have developed with Cummings entering a stolen vehicle in the middle of the night. “He’s driving a vehicle that’s not his with drugs in it,” Temas said.

Judge Hamman released Cummings on supervision and ordered that he post $1,000 bail by 1 p.m. today. He was ordered not to consume alcohol or illegal drugs, report for random testing and stay away from the vehicle owner and the Lowe’s parking lot.

A 21-year-old Makawao woman, who was in the passenger seat of the car, was arrested and released pending further investigation, according to police records.