Purse thief caught on camera

KAILUA-KONA — Say cheese!

A prospective criminal in Kailua-Kona thought he’d scored some easy cheddar from Island Ono Loa Grill Monday morning, only to find out later that night all he’d done was star in a clip that may someday be used in a reboot of the reality show, “America’s Dumbest Criminals.”

Chris Colby, Island Ono Loa Grill owner and manager, said the first name of the Hollywood hopeful is Kyle. Colby has the 21-year-old perpetrator’s full name via the investigating officer, but as the Hawaii Police Department couldn’t confirm the name due to its standard operating procedure, West Hawaii Today has chosen not to print it.

When Colby first met Kyle on Saturday, he had only provided his first name. Kyle did so as a prelude to asking Colby for a job.

Two days later, when Kyle strolled in a little before 10 a.m., Colby believes he was there to turn in the application he’d presumably filled out over the weekend.

“I think it was just an opportunity popped up for him that he couldn’t resist,” Colby said of Kyle’s decision to steal a restaurant employee’s purse, choosing to forego the long-term prospects of a steady job in favor of fast money. “I’ve heard he also talked to that new restaurant opening up in front, (Volcano Grill), about a job.”

Even though Kyle never turned in his application, it was the sharing of his first name with Colby that ultimately led to Kyle’s discovery by police.

Well, that, and his failure to notice the security camera mounted on the wall a few feet to his left.

Colby and a female employee, the victim of the theft, didn’t notice the purse was gone until she was clocking out to head home around 3 p.m., Colby said.

They went to the tape to verify she’d brought the purse in with her. She had. It was then a second employee brought up the young man who’d been lurking around inside the restaurant just before it opened.

After coming in, Kyle actually asked his future victim if he could borrow her phone, which she generously allowed him to do. He was talking on it when Colby emerged from his office to collect the job application. But Kyle’s attention was occupied by the phone conversation.

“I went back into my office, and when I came out again a few minutes later, the guy was gone,” Colby said.

So Colby and his two employees went to the tape again and saw what happened in the interim.

Kyle first noticed the purse and considered the theft. Peering around to make sure he was alone, Kyle then slid up to the counter and waited for his chance. He can be seen looking into the back of the restaurant where employees milled about. And when the opportunity presented itself, he put his victim’s phone down on the counter and snatched the rest of her property before walking briskly out the door.

Colby called police and an officer arrived between 4-5 p.m. The officer viewed the video but Colby couldn’t make him a copy until after the store closed. Upon calling the officer back around 11 p.m. to deliver a copy of the evidence, Colby was surprised to find out just how quickly police work can unfold.

“The cop goes, ‘Oh, just so you know, we already found the guy,’” Colby laughed.

Then he recounted the story the policeman told him.

The officer remembered from the tape the perpetrator’s black shirt with distinct lettering, large and white. Colby had also relayed to the officer the man’s first name.

While on patrol, the officer happened to cruise through a Kailua-Kona apartment complex where he saw someone who looked like the thief from the video wearing a black shirt with large white lettering. The officer rolled up to him, window down, and asked if his name was Kyle. The man in the black shirt said yes.

The officer explained they had a few things to discuss.

“He couldn’t arrest him at the time because (the officer) hadn’t talked to the girl whose purse had been stolen,” said Colby, explaining she’d gone home before police had arrived at the restaurant. “So he didn’t have a victim at that time. He came back and interviewed her the following day. That’s the last I know of it.”

Maj. Robert Wagner of the HPD said no arrest has yet been made and so he couldn’t release the name on the report, as per police procedure. However, he said a criminal theft case has been made against a 21-year-old male for stealing items that included $45 and various identification materials.