Local News

Checkpoints nab two for habitual DUI over weekend

Eleven arrested for impaired driving in one weekend is deemed ‘intolerable’

The Maui News

Two men with past arrests for impaired driving were arrested for habitually driving under the influence of an intoxicant over the weekend, as police conducted multiple intoxication checkpoints and made 11 arrests for impaired driving.

Frank Kane Jr., 45, of Lahaina was arrested Friday night after a concerned citizen called police dispatch to report a drunken driver, said Lt. William Hankins, commander of the police Traffic Section.

Wailuku patrol officers stopped Kane and a DUI Task Force officer responded to the scene to assist in the investigation. The DUI Task Force officer found Kane to be exhibiting signs of impairment and arrested him at 8:03 p.m., Hankins said.

Kane was charged with the felony offense of habitually driving under the influence of an intoxicant and driving after his license was revoked for impaired driving. His bail was set at $20,000.

The vehicle he was driving was towed, in accordance with the county ordinance allowing for the towing of a vehicle when the driver is arrested for impaired driving.

Since 2002, Kane has been arrested 10 times for impaired driving, police said. "He is a convicted habitual offender with a lifetime revocation of his license," Hankins said.

When he was arrested Friday, Kane was out on bail for his February 2020 arrest for habitually driving under the influence of an intoxicant.

Another man, Casler Keja, was arrested for habitually driving under the influence of an intoxicant when he showed signs of impairment at a police checkpoint at 12:15 a.m. Saturday on Kahului Beach Road, police said.

Keja, 27, of Kahului has prior convictions for impaired driving in 2016 and 2019, making his third arrest on Saturday a felony, police said. He was charged with habitually driving under the influence of an intoxicant and driving after his license was revoked for impaired driving. His bail was set at $5,250. The vehicle he was driving was towed.

Under state law, an impaired driving arrest becomes a felony when the driver has two prior convictions within 10 years or has at least one conviction for habitual impaired driving within 10 years.

The weekend impaired driving arrests included eight made at checkpoints, with all eight vehicles towed, police said.

In January, police made 70 impaired driving arrests, compared with 59 at the same time last year. So far this year, four habitual offenders have been arrested, twice as many as the two at the same time last year.

"The arrests this weekend highlight the fact that we have more work to do as a community to put an end to impaired driving," Hankins said. "Eleven people arrested for driving impaired in one weekend is absolutely intolerable. These drivers could have easily killed an innocent person if not taken off the streets by police."