For his tenacious dedication in a burglary that led to the arrest of the suspect, the Kona Crime Prevention Committee (KCPC) honored Kona Patrol Officer Eli-Dominic Cayetano as Officer of the Month for October 2024 during a ceremony last month in Kona.
Around 7:30 a.m. on March 15, 2024, Officer Cayetano responded to a reported burglary in Kailua-Kona. A female victim related that an unknown person forcibly entered her residence and removed various items belonging to her and her daughter contained within a black backpack and a white and gray handbag, including both her and her daughter’s cell phones, jewelry, credit cards, and other personal items. The woman further stated that she noticed the screen window to her residence was cut, which led her to presume this was how the suspect(s) gained entry as the screen window was intact the previous day.
Just prior to reporting the theft to police, the reporting party tried to ‘ping’ her phone using the Find my Phone application and it ‘pinged at a big-box store in Kona. She provided Officer Cayetano with a detailed description of the items that were stolen and stated she did not give anyone permission to have, take, or be in possession of her and her daughter’s belongings.
Later that same day, Officer Cayetano made checks at the big-box store where the phone was pinged. Knowing that there is a kiosk at this store where cellular phones can be turned in for cash, he reviewed the store’s video surveillance and saw a local man with long black hair and short side burns attempting to return the cell phones for cash. The man was also seen leaving the store and entering a vehicle.
Taking detailed notes of the suspect’s appearance and movements, Officer Cayetano made note of the description of the man, as well as the type of vehicle in which he left and the vehicle’s license plates.
With this information, Officer Cayetano was able to link the vehicle to a suspect that matched the man in the store’s video surveillance. Through a detailed investigative process, he was also able to confirm the suspect’s identity via video surveillance and that the suspect attempted to turn in the reporting party’s stolen cell phones for cash.
On March 21, 2024, Officer Cayetano was able to recover the two stolen smartphones from the store kiosk. He was also able to obtain additional information on the possible whereabouts of the other stolen items and recover those as well.
A search warrant was executed on the two bags and all the stolen items stolen were located and returned to the victim.
The following day, on March 26, the suspect was arrested and subsequently charged with second-degree theft.
Officer Cayetano exemplifies Hawai‘i Police Department’s core values of integrity, professionalism, compassion, community satisfaction, and teamwork. A five-year-veteran of the department, he takes great pride in keeping his community safe. It is officers like Officer Eli-Dominic Cayetano that make Hawai‘i Island a safe place to live. Department: Hawaiʻi Police Department Division: Kona Community Policing Officer: Acting Sergeant Bryan Ellis Phone:
