Almost all of the cases in which Honolulu prosecutors decided not to extradite defendants to Hawai'i to face criminal charges involve Class C offenses, the lowest classification of felonies, based on a review by The Advertiser.

Class C offenses carry a maximum five-year prison term and include shoplifting, auto theft, and low-level drug possession cases.

Prosecutors cite a range of reasons for declining to extradite defendants for crimes they commit in the Islands.

The defendants may reside in a foreign country, be imprisoned or live in mental institutions on the Mainland. But another large factor is the cost of bringing them back to Hawai'i.

In many cases, prosecutors reason that even if the defendants are returned and convicted, they may not get jail time. If the defendants are first-time offenders, they may get to enter deferred no contest or guilty pleas, giving them a chance to have their cases dropped.

In a 1993 case, for example, a man was indicted on a charge of damaging a car but he was located in a California mental institution. If extradited back to Honolulu, prosecutors believed he would raise the insanity defense. Insurance covered the car owner's loss.

In another case, a 63-year-old drunken woman was accused of interfering with a bus driver after hitting him on the nose. The driver threw the woman's bottle of vodka out the door to get her to leave the bus. When the woman refused to get off the bus, the driver called police.

She was located in California, but prosecutors noted her age and lack of prior convictions. "Hope she stays in California," a deputy prosecutor wrote.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com and Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com.