(BIVN) – A Hilo man has been arrested after he was found in the driver’s seat of a stolen vehicle.
Hawai‘i Island Police say they have charged 23-year-old Dylan Riley Balangatan with auto theft and theft after a company van was taken from a Kinoʻole Street business sometime early Saturday morning.
From a police news release:
About 11:26 a.m., an employee of a business in the 300 block of Kino‘ole Street in Hilo reported that a company van was stolen from the premises sometime between 1:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. that morning.
A little after 4 a.m. on Sunday, March 10, an employee of the business observed the stolen van parked in the parking lot of another business in the 1300 block of Kino‘ole Street. Responding officers located Balangatan seated in the driver’s seat of the stolen van with its engine running.
Balangatan was arrested for unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle (auto theft) and was transported to the East Hawai‘i Detention Center for booking, processing, and continued investigation by detectives with Hawai‘i Police Department’s Area I Criminal Investigation Section (CIS).
Balangatan was charged with the following offenses:
- First-degree unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle (auto theft)
- First-degree theft
“Those with information regarding this crime are asked to contact Detective Paul Mangus at (808) 961-2386 or paul.mangus@hawaiicounty.gov,” police wrote. “Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.”
by Big Island Video News4:45 pm
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STORY SUMMARY
HILO, Hawaiʻi - Police say they found the suspect sitting inside a stolen van on Sunday, the day after it went missing.