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The Honolulu Advertiser

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.