Brazen thieves who have been waiting until the cover of darkness when visitors and their fat wallets and expensive electronic equipment are in Po’ipu vacation rentals are at it again, after a quiet period.
Brad Bennett, a Colorado developer who owns two homes on Kaua’i and is building two more here, has offered a $15,000 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for twice in the past 100 days breaking into one of his Lawa’i Road homes, once while his son, daughter in law and grandson were in the house.
Bennett said the rash of burglaries has already led to people canceling Kaua’i vacations because they’ve heard of friends’ places getting burglarized, and has led to a painful decision for his family to not visit their favorite island as often.
During the first of two burglaries, thieves took off with between $6,000 and $7,000 worth of cash and personal belongings including laptop computers, cameras and other easy-to-carry items, Bennett said.
The thieves appear to intentionally wait until visitors are in the homes before entering, knowing that if the visitors are there so are their wallets, purses and other valuable belongings, he surmises.
That feeling was confirmed by Kaua’i Police Department Det. Kaleo Perez, who made one burglary arrest for multiple Po’ipu burglaries but so far has not been able to connect the suspect with anything taken from Bennett’s home.
In one case Perez is investigating (Det. Joe Adric is investigating other Po’ipu-area burglaries), a thief silently broke into a house, walked into a lady’s bedroom, past her bed where she was sleeping, into the closet containing her purse, and out, all without waking her up.
“They’re good. If they can burglarize a house and not wake up the occupants, they’re good,” Perez said.
The suspect arrested has admitted to some of the Po’ipu crimes, and recovered items tie the suspect to specific homes, but not Bennett’s, Perez said.
The same suspect was arrested by Det. Glen Morita for a burglary at Princeville, Perez said.
Perez hopes the reward will convince people to come forward with information about either the crimes or the stolen property, which in most cases was traded for cash or drugs.
“Hopefully that (the reward) will attract some attention, and hopefully the people with knowledge about the burglaries will come forth and talk.”
Anyone with information about the burglaries or stolen property should call Perez, 241-1686, or Adric, 241-1681.
In the meantime, Perez suggests residents and visitors lock their doors, activate alarms if installed, and call police immediately if they see suspicious people or hear suspicious noises.
Several guests, and some residents, including another Lawa’i Road resident, Don Donohugh, have awoke to find thieves in their homes or rentals, Donohugh surprising one thief dressed in a ninja outfit who said he was looking for a telephone book before fleeing on foot.
So it happens that the Lawai Road Action Committee, originally formed to ensure concessions to ease traffic flowing past their homes as a result of Alexander & Baldwin’s proposed Kukui’ula resort development on 1,000 acres mauka of Lawa’i Road, finds itself constituted also to seek ways to battle the burglary bug.
Greg Schredder, a leader of the Lawai Road Action Committee, was flabbergasted to find out about the rash of burglaries he said he knew nothing about until he found out about them while walking his neighborhood to gather support for the committee.
“We are concerned” with crime, he said. Neighbors should “be on the lookout” for suspicious people, Shredder said.
“The sad part is that my wife and daughter don’t feel comfortable coming there now,” said Bennett from his Denver office.
The family used to come to Kaua’i six times a year, and now that’s down to two. “It’s sad,” he said.
As concerned as he is about the burglaries affecting property values, he is genuinely more concerned about how word of the burglaries might affect the island’s all-important visitor industry, he said.
While there are certain people, possibly some of those favoring Hawaiian independence, who say, “great, less people from the Mainland,” the bottom line is that “tourism is what drives the economy there.
“I think it’s a problem that’s being swept under the carpet. But I think the bottom line is that it will begin to affect property values and the tourism industry,” said Bennett.
Members of the Lawai Road Action Committee are mulling their options, which include hiring private security to patrol the shoreline area, and trying to influence county leaders to establish a KPD substation along or near Lawa’i Road.
There already exists a KPD substation along Po’ipu Road near the Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort & Spa.
“We’re all very, very concerned about the situation,” said Jerry Gibson, Hyatt general manager and president of the Poipu Beach Resort Association board of directors.
“I think part of this story is that they’re preying on people,” said Bennett, upping his original $10,000 reward offer to $15,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the burglaries at his residence.
“Hopefully we can catch these (expletive) who are preying on your community and our community.”
Associate Editor Paul C. Curtis may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
