Updated at 7:50 p.m., Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Fugitive charged with auto theft
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
Ernest Vierra, 23, was arrested yesterday in Nanakuli, police said, after attempting to elude capture by diving into the ocean.
Officers said they spotted Vierra on the Wai'anae Coast at about 11 a.m. driving a stolen car, which they said eventually collided with two parked vehicles while being pursued.
Vierra and a woman passenger fled on foot, police said. Officers lost sight of the woman, who is still at large, but caught up with Vierra when he went into the ocean near the intersection of Farrington Highway and Hakimo Road.
After swimming and treading water for a short time, Vierra came ashore and was arrested.
He is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail plus the $10,000 warrant. He has six prior convictions, according to Hawai'i Criminal Justice Data Center records.
