Bail lowered to $250K in Kahului woman’s drug case

Bail was reduced to $250,000 for a 37-year-old Kahului woman on charges relating to heroin, crystal methamphetamine, large amounts of cash and digital gram scales being found in her Kahului apartment that she shared with a codefendant.

Judge Blaine Kobayashi on Wednesday lowered bail for Janice Young, citing multiple factors, but ordered conditions including that she stay away from the Harbor Lights Condominiums, from co-defendant John Andrade and from drugs and alcohol.

Deputy Public Defender Ben Lowenthal asked that bail be reduced to $50,000, an amount she could afford to pay. He said that even though she is from California, she spent a major part of her life on Maui and all of her ties are in Hawaii.

Deputy Prosecutor Joanne Hicks asked that bail be maintained at $500,000, noting that Young is charged with drug distribution and possession in a low-income housing area.

She said that in October 2020, a bench warrant was issued for Young’s arrest, and she was located in an outside area of Harbor Lights.

Young consented to a search of her backpack as well as her vehicle and her unit. There was heroin on a metal spoon in her backpack and other drugs.

In an apartment she shared with Andrade and their 17year-old son, there was drugs found in the refrigerator, in a cat food bag and in other rooms. Nearly $50,000 in cash was also discovered in the apartment in various areas, Hicks said.

Digital gram scales were also found, she said.

Young was indicted by a grand jury on June 28, according to court records.