Judge releases Kailua-Kona woman, 29, charged with attempted murder on Hawaii island
COURTESY HAWAII POLICE DEPARTMENT
Keola Kama, 29, was charged with two counts of attempted murder 2 and one count of attempted murder 1 today.
A Kona District Court judge released today a 29-year-old Kailua-Kona woman accused of attempting to murder a 30-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman, who were riding a moped, on Saturday by hitting them with a car.
Over the objections of Assistant Prosecutor Annaliese Wolf, Judge Margaret Masunaga placed Keola Kama on supervised release with special conditions, including an ankle bracelet, until her July 14 preliminary hearing.
Wolf said that the victims are the father of her children and his female companion. A complaint filed in court today names them as Junior Lavatai and Madeline Parsons.
Kama made her initial appearance in court this morning, and her relatives and boss also appeared in court, as court minutes show.
She was not required to post bail, which had been set at $215,500.
Hawaii County police charged Kama today with attempted murder for allegedly striking a moped and its two riders at about 9 a.m. Saturday.
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She was charged with two counts of second-degree attempted murder, one count of first-degree attempted murder, the offense of accidents involving death or serious bodily injury (which includes failure to stop and render aid), first-degree criminal property damage, and driving without a license and motor vehicle insurance.
Police said witnesses reported that Kama, the driver of a silver four-door Acura sedan, struck a moped and its two riders on Kuakini Highway fronting the entrance to Old Kona Airport.
Witnesses told police they saw Kama get out of the car and chase the moped passenger before fleeing the scene.
The crash, which occurred shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday, left the pair in critical condition.
Police found the victims on the east shoulder of Kuakini Highway.
They were taken to the Kona Community Hospital and were later transported to The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu.
Had Kama been taken into custody, she would have been detained at the Hawaii Community Correctional Center. Its population, as of June 5, was still over capacity at 277 inmates. Its operational capacity is 226. The population as of March 2 was 395.
There has been a deliberate effort on the part of police, prosecutors, the State Judiciary and the Department of Public Safety to reduce the prison and jail populations to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19.
