A 27-year-old Wai'anae woman pleaded not guilty yesterday to federal charges of making and possessing a Molotov cocktail on Aug. 7, the day after brushfires scorched hundreds of acres near Honokai Hale and Ko Olina areas.

U. S. Magistrate Leslie Kobayashi scheduled the trial for Willolyn Kapena Jose for Oct. 25.

Jose was being held without bail pending a hearing Tuesday on a request by federal prosecutors to continue holding her in federal custody.

Jose is charged with two counts of making and possessing the destructive device. Each count carries a federal prison term of up to 10 years.

Police said she was found the morning of Aug. 7 with an unexploded Molotov cocktail and an empty gasoline can in her car. Jose was arrested, but released pending investigation.

She was rearrested Thursday after she was indicted by a federal grand jury on the Molotov cocktail charges.

Jose, who had been described by police as a "person of interest," matched the description provided by a witness about a person acting suspiciously near where one of the brushfires began, police said.

She is not charged with starting any fires.