27-year-old man faces charges in connection to string of Kona burglaries

A 3rd District Court judge maintained bail on a man accused of string of burglaries over the past few days.

Twenty-seven-year-old Steven Charles Jackson appeared in Kona District Court Thursday on charges of fourth-degree sexual assault, three counts of first-degree burglary, third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and prohibited acts related to drug paraphernalia. The offenses stem from burglaries that occurred between Saturday and Wednesday in Kailua-Kona.

According to Hawai‘i police, the first incident occurred just after 2:30 a.m. on Saturday when a woman in her 30s reported that she and her husband were asleep in their vacation rental on the 75-5000 block of Kuakini Highway when she awoke to find an unknown male intruder in their bedroom with his genitals touching her body.

“The woman immediately screamed, awakening her husband who subsequently confronted the suspect and chased him out of the unit,” HPD stated in a press release Thursday. “Police investigators determined that the suspect left behind drug paraphernalia and personal items that led them to identify Jackson, who has no permanent address.”

Area checks were conducted but Jackson was not located and a Parras warrant was subsequently issued for the 27-year-old.

Less than two hours later, at 4 a.m., a 27-year-old Kona man reported that he was asleep in his residence near the 75-5000 block of Kuakini Highway when he awoke to see an unknown male suspect standing in his bedroom holding the victim’s cell phone. According to police, the victim chased the male suspect out of the house at which point the suspect dropped the stolen phone. As with the first incident, the suspect left behind physical evidence that helped identify Jackson as the suspect.

Additional area checks were conducted; however, police were unable to locate Jackson.

A few days later, just before noon on Wednesday, Kona patrol officers responded to a report of an active burglary in the of 76-6000 block of Ali‘i Drive in Kailua-Kona. A female property manager reported that she saw an unknown man standing in the kitchen holding food items and a bottle of liquor. When she told the male suspect to leave, he fled the area on foot.

Less than an hour later, Kona patrol officers located Jackson nearby and arrested him. At the time of his arrest, Jackson was in possession of several of the food items taken in the burglary.

Jackson’s bail was maintained at $50,000. He scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Friday.

Anyone who may have additional information regarding these incidents is encouraged to contact Detective Jason Foxworthy at 808-326-4646, ext. 281. They may also contact the police department’s non-emergency number at 808-935-3311.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at 808-961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.