CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Tema Tanu Tema, accused of stealing a car that had a baby in the back seat, appeared in court yesterday.

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Baby spooked
car theft suspect

Tema Tanu Tema is charged
in the March 29 incident

A 26-year-old man accused of stealing a car parked outside a Liliha restaurant told police he did not know there was an infant in the back seat when he jumped in and drove away.

But when he turned onto Kuakini Street, looked back and noticed the child, Tema Tanu Tema's main concern was to get rid of the car, police Detective Ursula Ortiz-Namoca testified yesterday in Honolulu District Court.

Tema was charged Thursday with endangering the welfare of a minor, auto theft and breaking into a car in the March 29 incident. Police traced fingerprints lifted from the stolen Honda to Tema. A call to CrimeStoppers also identified him as a possible suspect. He was arrested last Tuesday.

The baby's father, Raymond Corpuz, testified yesterday he had driven to Golden Coin restaurant to pick up some lunch for his wife. Because it was raining, he left the car engine running and the air conditioning on for his daughter's benefit while he went inside. He said he was gone for no more than five minutes when he returned to see his car being driven away.

"I (yelled) at him, 'Stop! Stop!' but he just keep going," Corpuz testified.

After he called 911, police located the car about 20 minutes later with the baby unharmed, he said.

In his statement to police, Tema said he was standing on Liliha Street near Golden Coin when he noticed a car parked with its engine running for "quite a while," Ortiz-Namoca said.

Standing from about 12 feet away, he could see the keys in the ignition and no driver around, so he entered the car and drove away, she said.

After realizing there was an infant in the back seat, Tema parked the car in a shady area near an apartment building hoping someone would find the baby, she said. He then rummaged through the trunk and took some items before fleeing.

As he left, he realized he had left the windows up, but because he was afraid, he kept running, Ortiz-Namoca said.

Tema said he dumped the items taken from the car into a nearby trash bin and returned later that evening to retrieve them. He also said he traded the handbags for drugs.

When police officers located the car, the doors were unlocked.

District Judge Faye Koyanagi found there was probable cause that Tema committed the offenses he was charged with, and sent the case to Circuit Court. He will be arraigned May 9.