KAILUA-KONA — A minor crime spree broke out in Ocean View last week as two well-known institutions were burglarized on consecutive nights.
The Ocean View Community Center was burgled and vandalized some time between Thursday night and Friday morning. While there was little outward evidence that a crime was committed, Sandi Alexander, president of the Ocean View Community Association, described the building’s interior as a “disaster zone.”
“It looked like there had been an explosion,” she said.
The perpetrator — or perpetrators — disabled the security cameras and security lights, cut off power to the entire structure then “jimmied open” the building’s front door. A mini-fridge, various cleaning supplies, a tool box full of maintenance tools, a 12-by-12-foot awning, two coolers and two computers — one at reception and one in a back office — were stolen.
Vandalism also appeared to be a goal, Alexander said, as file cabinets, kitchen cabinets and drawers were broken into and their contents emptied out onto the floor. A color printer was also damaged beyond repair.
Rodney Ducosin, the kitchen manager at the center, was the first employee on the scene, arriving a little before 7 a.m. Friday. He found the gate ajar and upon entering the complex, saw the door to the garage behind the center kicked in.
A propane tank that powers a washer, dryer and two showers in the garage had been unhooked but was abandoned at the bottom of an outdoor staircase leading back to the parking area.
He went around the front of the building to the office and found overturned cabinets and mounds of paperwork strewn about the room. It was at that point he contacted community center management and the police.
“They just trashed the place,” Ducosin said.
The center’s newest technological equipment, three computers and three printers stored in a computer lab, remained untouched. Alexander speculated that was because a “heavy-duty” door, behind which the equipment was locked, may have discouraged the perp(s) from attempting to steal it.
Naalehu police, the closest police department to Ocean View, responded a little after 9 a.m. Friday. Ka’u police Capt. Burt Shimabukuro said that the investigation is ongoing and there were no official suspects as of Monday afternoon.
There may have been another burglary attempt at the community center, which hosts meetings, dances and other community events, Monday, Ducosin said. Upon his arrival Monday, the locks to a shed containing a diesel generator had been cut, although nothing had been taken.
St. Jude’s Episcopal Church, also located in Ocean View, was burglarized some time between Friday night and Saturday morning, according to a police report. Shimabukuro said there was evidence of forced entry at the scene.
He added it is a possibility the burglaries at the community center and at St. Jude’s are connected, but that there was no definitive evidence of a connection as of Monday.
The police report did not list the items stolen from St. Jude’s or specify whether the church had been vandalized during the burglary. The church had not returned a phone call by press time Monday.
Alexander said anyone with information about either burglary should contact police at 939-2520. Anyone with any information specific to the burglary and vandalism at the community center may also contact the center directly at 939-7033. Alexander said the center would observe any requests from tipsters for anonymity.