Hawai’i Island police are requesting the public’s assistance for information regarding the identity of individuals responsible for a series of ATM thefts in the Kona area. All the thefts take place in the early morning hours.
On August 10, 2022, at 4:20 a.m., an ATM was stolen from outside a business near the 75-5000 block of Kopiko Street in Kailua-Kona (Report #: 22-069688). A white pickup truck was used to facilitate this theft. One hour later, the truck and the ATM machine were located fully engulfed in flames on Māmalahoa Highway, (Highway 190), near the 28 mile-marker in Kona. The truck was later determined to have been stolen on August 9, 2022, from the Old Kona Airport (Report #: 22-069580).
Roughly four-and-a-half months later on Sunday, January 1, 2023 at 3:30 a.m., an ATM was stolen from a gas station near the intersection of Hualalai Road and Kuakini Highway in Kailua-Kona (Report #: 23-000085). Video surveillance depicts a full-size pickup truck being used to facilitate the theft. The truck was later confirmed to have been stolen on Tuesday, December 27, 2022, from E. Lanikaula Street in Hilo (Report #: 22-115164). The truck was later recovered in Hilo.
Then at 4:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 12, 2023, an ATM was stolen from outside a business located in the 78-6000 block of Ali’i Drive in Keauhou (Report #: 23-003933). The ATM, and pickup truck used to facilitate this theft, were found several hours later in the Captain Cook area and both had been set on fire. The pickup truck was later determined to have been stolen a day earlier from the Sea View Circle subdivision in Kailua-Kona (Report #: 23-003944).
Two weeks later on Friday, January 27, 2023, at 2:37 a.m., an ATM was stolen from outside a retail shopping center in the 75-5700 block of Ali‘i Drive in Kailua-Kona (Report #: 23-009167). An hour later, at 3:35 a.m., officers and Hawai‘i Fire Department personnel responded to a vehicle fire in the Kalaoa area, near the intersection of Highway 190 and Old Māmalahoa Highway. Police determined the vehicle, a silver colored, full-size Chevy pickup truck, had been stolen from the baseyard of a private business south of an industrial zoned area on Thursday, January 26, 2023, (Report #: 23-009145).
Anyone with information on these incidents is encouraged to contact Area II Criminal Investigation Section Detective Len Hamakado at (808) 326-4646 ext. 224; or via email at len.hamakado@hawaiicounty.gov. They may also contact the Hawaii Police Department’s non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311.
Tipsters 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. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.