Police have nabbed an alleged thief who appears to have an obsession for signs.
Police have nabbed an alleged thief who appears to have an obsession for signs.
A Hawaii Police Department spokeswoman said Wednesday a 53-year-old Captain Cook man accused of stealing dozens of state and county street signs had in his possession “some serious safety-related signs … like stop signs, tsunami evacuation signs and nene goose signs.”
According to Denise Laitinen, those signs were among the 51 state and county street signs officers recovered after executing a search warrant Sept. 6 on the residence of Christopher Kroncke.
Police say Kroncke had been identified as a suspect by West Hawaii Criminal Investigation Section detectives investigating reported thefts of street signs — which also include highway mile markers, street-name signs and district boundary signs.
Police placed the total value of the recovered signage as $11,455.
Kroncke faces a single count of second-degree theft, a Class C felony that carries a maximum five-year prison sentence, upon conviction.
Kroncke, who posted $2,000 bail, is free awaiting his initial appearance Oct. 5 in Kona District Court.
