Burglar convicted in 2001 Waikiki hotel crime

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

A Circuit Court jury deliberated about 15 minutes Wednesday before finding Steven Michael Hauge guilty of burglarizing a room at a Waikiki hotel on Jan. 23, 2001.

Hauge faces a maximum sentence of 10 years on the first-degree burglary conviction.

The burglary took place about 7 a.m. at the Ocean Resort Hotel on Paoakalani Avenue, about six hours after tourist Norman Chaplan of Toronto was attacked in a restroom off the lobby of the Ohana Waikiki West hotel on Kuhio Avenue.

Hauge was arrested on suspicion of killing Chaplan but was never charged in that case.

Police investigators believe Chaplan was hit in the head with a large rock at least three times during a robbery in which his wallet was stolen.

The murder case is still open.

In the burglary case, police used DNA from blood found in the hotel room that was broken into to compare with DNA in a sample taken from Hauge and came up with a perfect match.

At the time of his arrest as a suspect in Chaplan's death, Hauge had amassed 45 criminal convictions.

Nine of those were for felonies that included terroristic threatening, assault, forgery-counterfeiting and credit card offenses.

The other convictions were for a variety of misdemeanors, including shoplifting, theft, criminal property damage, resisting arrest, harassment, disorderly conduct and jaywalking.

Sentencing is set for July 2.