Officer Carrie Akina Named Officer of the Month

Officer Carrie Akina has been recognized as “Officer of the Month” by the Kona Crime Prevention Committee for the month of December. Her nomination came after locating two individuals wanted in a resort burglary.

Akina was honored at Huggo’s restaurant in Kailua-Kona during a luncheon ceremony.

According to officials, Kona Patrol officers responded to a report of a burglary at a resort in Kailua-Kona around 2 a.m on June 21.

A visitor from California reported that when he returned to the resort, items, including his rental car key has been removed from his hotel room. Additionally, the car was gone from the parking lot.

Officer Akina learned the names of two suspects during a watch briefing the same afternoon and declared her intention to find them. Just hours later, she located and arrested one of the suspects. At that time, she recovered stolen electronics from his backpack and returned them to the victim. The California man was scheduled to fly out the next morning.

Early the next morning the second suspect was located and was arrested. That individual was in possession of the stolen rental car, as well as mail belonging to other people. It was also discovered that the car’s license plate had been removed and replaced with a stolen plate.

The first suspect was charged with burglary, second-degree theft, promoting a dangerous drug, and possessing drug paraphernalia. The second suspect was charged with burglary, unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, six counts of theft, two counts of theft/forgery of a credit card, eight counts of unauthorized possession of personal information, fraudulent use of a motor vehicle license plate, and driving without a license.

Akina was nominated by Lieutenant Willian Souther, who said, “Officer Akina’s dedication and initiative I pursuing wanted criminals assists in our vision of making the Big Island a safe place to live, visit, and conduct business.”

With her nominated as “Officer of the Month,” Akina is also eligible to become “Officer of the Year.”

The Kona Crime Prevention Committee is an organization that encourages community involvement in aiding and supporting police in West Hawai’i.