For his work quickly solving a theft investigation, the Kona Crime Prevention Committee recently honored Hawai‘i Police Department Officer Eli Cayetano as Officer of the Month for July 2022, during an awards ceremony at Huggo’s on the Rocks in Kona on Wednesday, July 6, 2022.
On April 8, 2022, Officer Cayetano overheard a call about an active theft at a local business. Aware of the details of another theft that had occurred at the same business earlier in the day, Officer Cayetano had reason to believe the same individuals might be responsible for both thefts.
Knowing that time was of the essence to locate the suspects before they got too far away, Officer Cayetano broadcasted the suspects’ name and license plate to his fellow officers.
Within a matter of minutes, members of the Traffic Enforcement Unit (TEU) located the suspect’s vehicle about two miles away from the scene of the theft. As Officer Cayetano responded to the business to obtain statements and determine what items were stolen, TEU officers conducted a traffic stop on the suspected vehicle, which was occupied by two men. During the traffic stop officers observed several items within the vehicle believed to be stolen from the business.
The driver of the suspect vehicle also had methamphetamine and a glass-smoking pipe in his possession. Both he and the male passenger were arrested and numerous stolen items recovered from within the vehicle were later returned to the store.
Interviewing both suspects, Officer Cayetano learned that a third male was involved who ended up being the “mastermind” of the three. He was able to identify this third man through photo stills from the store’s video surveillance and set about conducting a search for this individual. When Officer Cayetano and other officers arrived at a campsite, they discovered more items stolen from the store, but learned the suspect was not there. After recovering the stolen items to return them to the business, Officer Cayetano located the suspect a short distance away wearing the same clothing he was seen wearing in the store’s video surveillance footage. When Officer Cayetano contacted the suspect, the man immediately confessed and was arrested.
After conferring with the County Prosecutor’s Office, all three men were charged for felony theft with bail set at $2,000 for each man. The driver of the vehicle was also charged for promotion of a dangerous drug, with bail set at an additional $2,000.
Every month the Kona Crime Prevention Committee honors a police officer in west Hawai‘i as their Officer of the Month. Officers are nominated by their supervisors from the various police districts and a winner is selected by the KCPC board of directors. All officers selected for Officer of the Month are eligible to be selected as the Kona Crime Prevention Committee’s Officer of the Year.