The owner of a burglarized home in Leilani Estates subdivision realized someone was on his property — which had been evacuated due to lava from Kilauea volcano — when he found a 12-pack of Bud Light beer behind his house when he returned to check on the place.
According to court documents, the homeowner, a 66-year-old man, said he returned to his Moku Street home at about 3 p.m. Tuesday. After finding the 12-pack, which didn’t belong to him, the man asked in a loud voice if anyone was there. The suspect, 29-year-old Alexandru Stingu-Dragomir from Pahoa, emerged from a separate office building on the property.
When the homeowner asked what he was doing there, Stingu-Dragomir replied, “I was looking at the lava,” documents state.
The owner said he also inspected the inside of his house and found a previously unopened bag of his own pistachios on a table, opened and with numerous empty shells left behind. Numerous drawers also had been rifled through with the contents of numerous plastic containers strewn across the floor, according to documents.
Documents state the homeowner said he asked Stingu-Dragomir if he had taken any of his property and Stingu-Dragomir emptied his pockets, revealing two keys belonging to the property owner.
Also found at the same home was the purse of a neighbor with two multicolored knives and a BMW key fob lighter belonging to another evacuated Moku Street home allegedly burglarized.
Stingu-Dragomir, who is charged with three counts of burglary of a dwelling during an emergency and another of burglary of a building during an emergency, made his initial court appearance Friday.
Deputy Public Defender Jiro Yuda asked Hilo District Judge Harry Freitas to grant Stingu-Dragomir supervised release, which would not require cash bail.
“If the court is not inclined to grant supervised release, we’ll be asking for reduction in bail,” Yuda said.
Deputy Prosecutor Chris Schlueter requested that Freitas maintain Stingu-Dragomir’s $175,000 bail.
“We’re looking at a life term of imprisonment,” Schlueter told the judge. “The state submits that the defendant took advantage of a very vulnerable situation in the Puna District, given the emergency proclamation issued on May 3. The alleged conduct took place in the Leilani Estates subdivision following a mandatory evacuation order declared by the Hawaii County Civil Defense.”
The possibility of a life term is being sought by prosecutors under a statute allowing for extended terms of imprisonment because of the four felony charges faced by Stingu-Dragomir, who, according to court documents, is a Russian-born U.S. citizen.
Burglary of a dwelling during an emergency is a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, while burglary of a building during an emergency is a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years behind bars.
Mayor Harry Kim told the Tribune-Herald he’d been clear from the beginning of the current lava crisis there would be no tolerance for crime in evacuation areas and even the smallest theft would be prosecuted to the fullest extent. Kim said authorities “owe it to the people we evacuate.”
Freitas maintained Stingu-Dragomir’s bail and ordered him to return at 2 p.m. Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.
“Have a great weekend,” Stingu-Dragomir told the judge as he was escorted out of the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies.
Reporter Tom Callis contributed to this story.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.