Kona man faces multiple drug, firearms charges
A 45-year-old Kona man free on bail in a felony drugs and firearms case was arrested and charged with 17 additional drug and firearms offenses last week.
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A 45-year-old Kona man free on bail in a felony drugs and firearms case was arrested and charged with 17 additional drug and firearms offenses last week.
According to court documents filed by police, Hawaii Police Department officers executed search warrant Thursday on a residence in Captain Cook as well as a Parras warrant authorizing the arrest of Luis Enrique Pagano Colon, who was taken into custody at his Kailua-Kona residence.
Documents state that at the Captain Cook residence, police confiscated 31.18 grams — just over an ounce — of methamphetamine, as well as several firearms.
The guns are identified in documents as Taurus G2C and Sig Sauer 9mm semi-automatic pistols, a Charles Daly AR-12 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun, a Palmetto State Armory AK-47-style rifle, an AK pattern pistol, an AR 10 platform rifle, a MAC 11-style sub-machine pistol and a Smith &Wesson double-action revolver.
Pagano Colon reportedly gave police permission to search his Kailua-Kona residence, as well, and recovered 46.2 grams of marijuana, as well as 13 detachable ammunition magazines — all capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition, making them prohibited magazines.
Pagano Colon was charged with: first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug; marijuana possession; use of a firearm for felony drug offense; 10 counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and/or ammunition; and four counts of possession of a prohibited weapon, one count of which was later dropped by the state.
The most serious charges, first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and use of a firearm in for a felony drug offense are Class A felonies that carry a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, upon conviction.
Documents state Pagano Colon was convicted of a felony in Virginia in 1999 and isn’t legally eligible to own or possess firearms or ammunition.
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Pagano Colon requested an attorney after being read his Miranda rights, according to documents, and no interview was conducted by police.
According to a police statement, the investigation into Pagano Colon was a “coordinated, multi-agency law enforcement operation” HPD and three federal agencies — the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Secret Service.
At his initial court appearance Monday, Kona District Judge Kimberly Taniyama maintained Pagano Colon’s bail at $629,000 and ordered him to appear today for a preliminary hearing.
When taken into custody by police, Pagano Colon was free on $150,000 bail in another drugs and firearms case stemming from an April arrest.
According to court documents, in that case HPD Vice officers made contact with Pagano Colon in the parking lot of an Alii Drive restaurant in Kailua-Kona and executed a pair of search warrants on him and the grey Mazda 6 sedan he was driving.
The search, according to police, turned up 4.7 ounces of cocaine, 1.1 ounces of methamphetamine and a Taurus G2C 9mm semi-automatic pistol loaded with 13 rounds. Also discovered, police said, were a second magazine containing 12 9mm rounds, an additional 21 rounds of 9mm ammunition and 43 12-gauge shotgun shells.
Documents state police received permission to search Pagano Colon’s Kailua-Kona residence and another car, a Dodge Challenger, and recovered 3.2 pounds of marijuana, a Glock 23 .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a .40 caliber magazine with a 22-round capacity, two 50-round drum-style .40 caliber magazines, 246 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition, 84 rounds of 9mm ammunition, two rounds of .357 caliber and one round of .223 caliber ammunition.
Pagano Colon reportedly told police in April that he had been laid off from work for about a year and sold cocaine to pay bills. He has a jury trial scheduled for Nov. 24 in that case with a hearing on pretrial motions set for Sep. 24.
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Email John Burnett at [email protected].