Boys and Girls Club thief caught on video

The administrative offices of the Boys and Girls Club of the Big Island in Hilo were targeted early Friday morning in yet another in a long line of recent burglaries.

But this time, the nonprofit had a trick up its sleeve: Brand new security cameras captured the thief in the act, and the club is now appealing to the public for help in identifying the suspect.

Situated on Kamakahonu Street, between Haili and Ponahawai streets, the building has a back door that lately has attracted plenty of unwanted attention from thieves, said Zavi Brees-Saunders, the club’s chief professional officer.

“We’ve had a number of break-ins,” she said Wednesday. “In November and December we had four in a monthlong period. And this one (Friday morning’s break-in) is the second one this calendar year, and it was through that same door. We did not have cameras up the first times. We had an alarm system and a guard coming around, being active at night. But we’ve had a lot of traffic coming through here.”

The burglar broke down the back door, which isn’t very visible from the street and other buildings in the area, Brees-Saunders said, and proceeded to make off with items valued at a total of about $1,000.

“He took our projector that we use for lessons and programming for the youth. It’s the only one we own in the organization,” she said. “And he took our credit card machine, a piggy bank, which was empty — we don’t keep any valuables in here anymore — and most interestingly, he took a new yoga mat.”

Boys and Girls Club administrators and the police were alerted immediately after the alarm sounded, Brees-Saunders said, but when the police arrived, the perpetrator had already left.

“The police did a great job with this last one,” she said. “They were on site within 10 minutes, but (the burglary) had already been completed.”

The crook did, however, leave behind a security camera video of himself as he made his way through the building. The man appears to be wearing a mask, as well as long, baggy shorts and sneakers, with a white, long-sleeved “Tapout” shirt and white stocking cap with a bill.

He carried a bag and a flashlight and is shown moving from room to room, at one point returning to the main office with the yoga mat rolled up and slung over his shoulder. Before leaving, he turned down the lights and exited from the way he came. The whole video lasts about three minutes and 45 seconds.

Police took a report and initiated an investigation, according to Hawaii Police Department Lt. Robert Fujitake Jr., but there wasn’t much more information he could provide about the latest break-in.

Police records, however, revealed six other reports involving the building going back to Dec. 28, 2011.

“I know police put out alerts to the pawn shops right away (concerning Friday’s break-in),” Brees-Saunders said. “But we’ve never recovered anything.”

A suspect broke in at least once without stealing anything, she said. Other break-ins saw things like cash, cellphones and computers go missing. Another time, a thief made away with $1,500 in maintenance equipment, including a chainsaw, two weed-eaters and a number of hand tools.

“That was heartbreaking. And expensive,” she said.

Brees-Saunders said she was glad to see that an investment of about $1,000 in security cameras paid off, and she’s hoping someone in the community can help identify the perpetrator. To view the full security camera footage, visit hawaiitribune-herald.com.

“Everyone’s upset,” she said. “You feel violated. You feel like you’re doing your best and putting your best foot forward to give our youth a chance in the community. … You feel like we’re a place we’d like the community to support and embrace what we’re trying to do, and to have things like that happen really feels like a negative push-back.”

Anyone with information regarding the burglary can call the police department’s nonemergency number at 935-3311, or call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.

Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.