Hawaii Island police have arrested and charged a man and woman, in connection with a burglary that occurred Thursday morning in Ka‘u.
Responding to an 8:15 a.m. call, police determined that a construction employee arriving at a job site in the 95-800 block of Ninole Loop Road in Na‘alehu encountered two suspects inside a building under renovation, according Hawaii Police Department. The suspects left the scene in a vehicle after being confronted, and no injuries were reported.
The employee told police that previously laid flooring material in the building had been pulled up and stacked in piles with estimated repair costs around $4,000.
At 9:15 a.m., after making a traffic stop of the suspect’s vehicle in Na‘alehu town, police arrested 55-year-old Melvin Burgo of Ocean View, and 43-year-old Tisha Thompson of Mountain View, on suspicion of burglary. Both were taken to the Na‘alehu police station while investigators with the Ka‘u patrol division continued the investigation.
Burgo and Thompson were later each charged with one count second-degree burglary with bail set at $2,000 each. Thompson was also arrested and charged for an outstanding criminal contempt of court warrant, with an additional $1,000 bail being set on her warrant.
Both were later taken to the Kona cellblock pending their initial court appearance Friday.
Anyone with information of this incident should call the department’s nonemergency line at (808) 935-3311 or Officer Jenna Kosinski-Santos 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.