Officer: Suspect in stolen Jeep evaded police before crash

Man faces charges of theft, property damage, leaving scene of collision

WAILUKU -- After making a U-turn on North Kihei Road to follow a Jeep that fled the scene of a vehicle break-in, a police officer testified he stopped the pursuit when the Jeep began speeding away and passing other vehicles.

"Off in the distance, it was swerving, going left of center, passing vehicles, still accelerating, pulling away from my location," Kihei patrol officer Andrew Spring said.

He said he was 0.8 mile away when he saw the Jeep collide with other vehicles.

"I saw cars, dust, everything flying up in the air. I saw tail lights spinning around," Spring said.

The officer testified Monday at a preliminary hearing in Wailuku District Court for Christopher Hoffman, 41, who was identified as the driver and was arrested after running from the crash scene Feb. 2.

Police began looking for the Jeep after a vacationing Grass Valley, Calif., resident called police at 6:28 p.m. that day to report his rental vehicle was being broken into, said Detective Nicholas Angell. He said the visitor had parked the vehicle near Milepost 10 on the makai side of Honoapiilani Highway while he and his girlfriend went to watch the sunset and heard the vehicle alarm going off as they were returning.

The visitor confronted a man, later identified as Hoffman, inside the driver's door of the vehicle, Angell said. He said Hoffman told the visitor that the vehicle had already been broken into.

"If they're going to jack it, I'll jack it too," Hoffman reportedly told the visitor.

Hoffman walked away and turned and pointed at the visitor, who took a photo as Hoffman was getting into the passenger side of a white Jeep Wrangler parked in front of the rental vehicle, Angell said. Then Hoffman slid over to the driver's side and drove off toward Maalaea, Angell said.

The driver's side window of the rental car had been smashed and property in the vehicle had been rummaged through, Angell said.

A few minutes later, police dispatch received a call from a woman who reported being cut off by the white Jeep while heading toward Maalaea on Honoapiilani Highway, Angell said. She reported the Jeep was being driven erratically and had turned off at the entrance to Maalaea Harbor. After passing Carl's Jr. restaurant in Maalaea, the woman "doubled back" because she was concerned and located the Jeep as it was pulling out of the restaurant area, Angell said.

He said the Jeep, which had been reported stolen that morning from Kihei Auto Sales, turned onto North Kihei Road.

Officer Spring was on North Kihei Road near the mudflats and heading to the break-in scene when he stopped and pulled off the road to look for the approaching Jeep, which he spotted in a line of traffic.

After making the U-turn to follow, Spring said he caught up to the Jeep and activated the lights and siren on his police car to try to stop the Jeep. It slowed down before swerving back onto the road and passing vehicles that had pulled off to yield to the police car, Spring said.

"At that point, I knew what the vehicle was doing was evading me," he said. "At that point, I felt like it was going to be unsafe for me and others to follow."

At the crash scene, Spring said the white Jeep was on a sand berm on the makai side of North Kihei Road with its door open and no one inside. A bystander going to a sport utility vehicle on a sand berm on the other side of the road reported that a shirtless man with tattoos had fled from the Jeep and was running south on the beach toward Sugar Beach, Spring said.

DUI Task Force officer Caleb Guarriello, who was in the area and heard the police radio calls, said he checked the area along North Kihei Road for the suspect but didn't locate anyone.

Then he went to the crash scene and saw Hoffman, who matched the description of the suspect, about 300 yards away, Guarriello said.

Police reported deploying a Taser to subdue and arrest Hoffman.

Judge Blaine Kobayashi ruled there was sufficient evidence to support probable cause for charges of first-degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, four counts of habitual property crime, unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle and first-degree resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle against Hoffman.

He also is charged with third-degree criminal property damage, attempted fourth-degree theft, two counts of violating public health emergency rules, leaving the scene of a collision involving damage to property and inattention to driving. The emergency rules charges allege Hoffman wasn't wearing a face mask.

Kobayashi kept bail at $15,000 for Hoffman, who is set to be arraigned Feb. 17 in 2nd Circuit Court.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.