A 28-year-old Ka‘u man is facing a handful of charges stemming from several property crimes Sunday in Ocean View.
At 2:35 p.m. Sunday, Hawaii Police Department officers were called to a report of a man shoplifting items from a business establishment on Lotus Blossom Lane in Ocean View. The suspect left the business with merchandise valued in excess of $6 prior to the arrival of police.
Around 3 p.m., a 74-year-old Ocean View man told police that while he was at home, an unidentified man entered his residence on the 92-1400 block of Luau Drive without permission. The suspect briefly remained in the home before leaving on foot. Nothing was reportedly taken from the house and the victim was not injured.
A few minutes later, at 3:06 p.m., a 51-year-old Ocean View woman reported that an unidentified man approached her residence on the same block, opened the gate to the porch and walked onto her lanai, but did not enter the residence. The victim, who was at home at the time, yelled at the suspect to leave.
Police said the suspect then walked to the driveway and entered the victim’s vehicle before leaving the property on foot. The victim was not injured, nor was anything reportedly taken from the vehicle.
At 3:09 p.m., police received another call of an unidentified man attempting to take items from a carport before entering the front door of a home in the 92-8800 block of Hawaii Boulevard. The homeowner, a 72-year-old man, told police that his 67-year-old wife was in the house and the suspect had just stepped through the door when he pulled the suspect out of the house. The suspect then walked around the home taking items before leaving on foot. No one was injured and the victim recovered his stolen items.
Then, at 3:55 p.m. at the intersection of Hawaii Boulevard and Luau Drive, police arrested Edison Jitiam of Ocean View without incident on suspicion of theft. He was taken to the Na‘alehu Police Station while the investigation continued.
After linking Jitiam to the four incidents, police charged Jitiam Sunday evening with two counts of second-degree unauthorized entry into a dwelling, and one count each of fourth-degree theft, second-degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, and second-degree criminal trespass. Bail was set at $11,000 pending an initial court appearance.
Anyone who may have information about these incidents is asked to call the department’s nonemergency number at (808) 935-3311 or Officer Wilson Gani of the Ka‘u Patrol Division at (808) 939-2520.
Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at (808) 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.