By JOHN BURNETT By JOHN BURNETT ADVERTISING Tribune-Herald staff writer A 50-year-old Hakalau man is believed to be the first on the Big Island to be convicted at trial on a 3-year-old law making theft of a pound or more
By JOHN BURNETT
Tribune-Herald staff writer
A 50-year-old Hakalau man is believed to be the first on the Big Island to be convicted at trial on a 3-year-old law making theft of a pound or more of copper a felony, according to a local prosecutor.
A Hilo jury took less than three hours on Thursday to convict Stanley Richard Bento Jr. of copper theft following a five-day trial.
“This is the first theft of copper case, as far as I know, that’s gone to trial in this county,” Damerville said afterwards.
Hilo Circuit Judge Glen Hara set sentencing for Aug. 10 at 1 p.m. Bento is free on supervised release but Hara ordered him to immediately report to the adult probation office for drug urinalysis.
According to court records, Bento has prior convictions on 17 charges including felony theft, and two convictions each for promoting a dangerous drug and possessing drug paraphernalia. He’s also been convicted of possession of burglary tools, a misdemeanor.
The copper is believed to be part of more than 600 pounds of two-inch copper pipe reported stolen from a Pahoa farm warehouse on Jan. 20, 2011. The Tribune-Herald is not reporting the address of the warehouse at Damerville’s request, because he believes there may still be copper there.
“We were never able to prove who was responsible for the burglary, but on Aug. 21, the defendant, Mr. Stanley Bento, showed up at a recycling center here in Hilo and sold over 350 pounds of copper pipes of the same type and description, and told the detectives that another person was responsible,” Damerville said. “He (said he) just agreed to use his ID and he didn’t know that the pipes were stolen.”
The law, which makes copper theft punishable by up to five years in prison, requires individuals attempting to sell copper at a scrap or recycling business provide identification and certify that the metal isn’t stolen.
“This new statute gives us some ammunition we didn’t have before and people are gonna get prosecuted on this,” Damerville said. “They want trial, they’re gonna get trial. The state just doesn’t believe jurors are gonna buy ‘oh, I didn’t know it was stolen.’ That is a common refrain by a number of people suspected of stealing copper, and the jury said that ain’t gonna work.”
At Wednesday’s closing price of $3.29 a pound on the Commodities Exchange (COMEX), 600 pounds of copper was worth $1,974, while 350 pounds went for $1,151.50.
Bento’s sale of the copper at the recycler occurred just five days after police reported that $50,000 worth of copper cable had been stolen from a decommissioned wind farm at South Point in Ka‘u.
“We have a big theft of copper problem over here,” Damerville said. “We’re gonna aggressively prosecute them because it’s just tragic. Some people are going to their houses and finding that they have no plumbing … where they had copper plumbing.
“We’re gonna take this really seriously and we’re gonna put a stop to this, no matter how many trials I have to go through before I retire.”
A call to Bento’s attorney, Kay Iopa, was not returned by press time.
