A 65-year-old Puna man is facing four criminal charges after police say he stole a Toyota Tacoma from the Prince Kuhio Plaza parking lot in Hilo, then crashed it into a telephone pole while trying to outrun officers along Government Beach Road. Arthur Clayton Jr. was denied supervised release at his first court appearance and remains held on $72,000 bail.
The Tacoma was reported stolen from the shopping center's parking lot on October 19, according to Big Island Video News. Police later spotted the truck traveling at a high rate of speed on Government Beach Road that same day, as Big Island Now reports.
According to police reports, the driver refused to stop for officers and kept speeding before veering off the roadway and crashing into a telephone pole. The driver, later identified as Clayton, fled from the driver's door of the Tacoma and was apprehended a short time later, the same outlet's report states.
Four Charges, No Bail Relief
Clayton is charged with Theft in the First Degree for the alleged theft of the motor vehicle, Unauthorized Control of a Propelled Vehicle in the First Degree, Driving Without a License, and Reckless Driving, per the report from Big Island Video News. He was charged in connection with the theft of the truck from the Prince Kuhio Plaza lot, as KITV reported.
Clayton made his initial appearance in Hilo District Court this week. His request for supervised release was denied, and his bail was maintained at $72,000, the article notes. He has been ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing on Friday, October 23.
Under Hawaiʻi law, theft in the first degree involving a motor vehicle is classified as a Class B felony, according to state statute. That charge alone can carry significant prison exposure, separate from the additional counts Clayton faces for unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, driving without a license, and reckless driving.
Who Investigated The Case
The arrest and initial investigation were initiated by Officer Cody Hirata of the Puna Patrol, while the felony investigation was handled by the Hawaiʻi Police Department's Area I Criminal Investigation Section, per the same account. Prosecutors noted that the charges remain allegations and that Clayton is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
A Tough Record For Solving Car Thefts
The case lands amid broader data showing Hawaiʻi's neighbor islands have had more success clearing property crimes than Oʻahu in recent years. In Honolulu County, there were 3,596 motor vehicle thefts in 2024, and police solved just 83 of those cases, according to Civil Beat. Maui County, by comparison, cleared almost 15% of its vehicle theft cases in 2024, down from a peak of more than 24% in 2022, while the Big Island posted a burglary clearance rate of about 17% that same year.
Statewide, overall crime has trended downward, with Hawaiʻi's crime rate falling nearly 17% from 75,399 incidents in 2021 to 63,030 in 2024, Civil Beat reported. More recently, Hawaiʻi County logged 10,749 offenses in 2025, and the state's crime data release pegged the county's total crime rate as 0.9% lower than the prior year, according to the Hawaiʻi Office of the Governor.
Anyone with information related to vehicle theft cases in the islands is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300. Clayton's case is scheduled to continue Friday, when he is due back in court for his preliminary hearing.
