Defendants still jailed after judge upholds bail

Both men have pleaded not guilty to firearm and drug charges

WAILUKU -- Two men who were arrested when police found a loaded handgun and methamphetamine in a vehicle remained in jail Friday after a judge maintained bail for the defendants.

Nolan Fraser, 35, who was driving the black Toyota 4Runner, and his front-seat passenger, Isaac Pahulu, 24, have pleaded not guilty to possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony drug offense, carrying a loaded firearm on a public highway, first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, attempted first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, two counts of possessing drug paraphernalia, third-degree promotion of a detrimental drug and promoting a controlled substance near a school.

Fraser also pleaded not guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of ammunition, two counts of third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, three counts of possessing drug paraphernalia and two counts of third-degree promotion of a detrimental drug.

The two men were arrested after the vehicle went through the McDonald's drive-thru in Wailuku, then reversed into a handicapped stall in the parking lot the morning of May 12.

Police had been looking for Fraser, who was being sought on a bench warrant for allegedly violating his probation.

That morning, after he walked across the street and met with an attorney, Fraser was arrested when he returned to the vehicle, said Deputy Prosecutor Joanne Hicks.

She said Pahulu was outside the vehicle when officers smelled marijuana and saw a pistol in the vehicle.

The .40-caliber pistol was loaded, with one round in the chamber. Another 37 rounds of ammunition was found in a vehicle compartment, Hicks said. She said 25 grams of methamphetamine were found in two packets in a cupholder.

An air pistol that resembled a real gun and another seven packets of methamphetamine, packaged for distribution, were found in an open backpack by the passenger floorboard, Hicks said.

In all, more than 1 ounce of methamphetamine was found in the vehicle, police said.

From a camouflage jacket believed to belong to Fraser, police recovered marijuana and 16 fake oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, Hicks said.

Fraser asked Friday for his bail to be reduced from $500,000, which Deputy Public Defender Heather Wolfenbarger said was too high. She said Fraser is a lifelong Maui resident who works part time laboring with his father.

Hicks asked for the bail amount to remain.

"This defendant is a violent felon with a loaded firearm and drugs," she said. "It's important to maintain the high bail based on the danger he poses to the community and flight risk."

She said Fraser's criminal history of 60 convictions includes five for felony crimes and 32 for misdemeanor offenses.

If convicted of the most serious charges in his latest case, Fraser could face extended multiple offender sentencing as well as repeat offender sentencing, Hicks said.

Second Circuit Judge Blaine Kobayashi kept bail at $500,000 for Fraser.

Pahulu also asked for his bail to be lowered or to be released on supervision.

"His entire record is traffic, not even serious traffic," said his attorney, John Parker. "This appears to be a man who was standing around the wrong place at the wrong time.

"He's lived here all his life. He's not going anywhere."

Hicks asked for bail to remain at $250,000 for Pahulu.

"This defendant is a known drug dealer in the community," she said. "He's a danger to the community for that reason."

Judge Kobayashi kept bail for Pahulu at $250,000.

Pretrial conferences are set July 26 for both men.

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