Posted at 5:27 p.m., Sunday, November 5, 2006
Suspected copper thief charged
Advertiser Staff
A suspected copper thief arrested Friday in Hawai'i Kai near a chopped-down utility pole was charged today with misdemeanor criminal trespass.Bail for Alden Kaupiko, 47, is $1,000.
Charges on several felony counts are pending against Kaupiko, who has an appearance scheduled Monday at District Court on the trespass charge. The pending felony accounts include second-degree criminal property damage, criminal tampering, and fourth-degree theft.
Kaupiko was arrested Friday at Koko Head District Park where a utility pole had been chopped down. Police said he was attempting to rip wiring from a transformer at the time of his arrest.
Phone service in the area was disrupted because wires had been cut from the pole with an improvised wire-cutting tool that allowed the user to reach high places.
Police recovered 40 pounds of copper wiring at the scene.