Charges filed in Wainaku copper theft

Police charged a 24-year-old Pepeekeo man on probation for burglary and numerous other charges for an August theft of copper at Wainaku Executive Center.

Norton Castro was arrested Friday morning in downtown Hilo and charged later that afternoon by Hilo Criminal Investigations Section detectives with theft of copper, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment. He was also charged with violating probation. His total bail was set at $30,000 — $10,000 for copper theft and $20,000 for the probation violation.

Ed Olson, who owns the Wainaku building, told the Tribune-Herald on Aug. 14 he discovered that morning copper drainpipes were taken from the sides of the former C. Brewer &Co. headquarters turned upscale event venue.

“Everything from about the 20-foot elevation down, they took all the copper pipes, probably 150 lineal feet of 4-inch copper pipe,” Olson said then. “This is a very fancy building, so all of the drainage situation was copper, which is incredibly expensive.”

He said to replace the copper pipes would cost “several thousand dollars.”

Castro made his initial court appearance Monday. According to court records, Deputy Public Defender Tiara Maumau requested he be released on his own recognizance or granted supervised release on the copper theft charge.

Both requests were denied by Hilo District Judge Barbara Takase, who ordered his bail be maintained and ordered him to appear at 2 p.m. today for a preliminary hearing.

Court records indicate Castro was sentenced Nov. 26, 2013, by Hilo Circuit Judge Glenn Hara to a year in jail and five years probation after pleading guilty to two counts of burglary plus second-degree theft, second-degree forgery, third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and possessing drug paraphernalia. He received credit for the 177 days he had served while awaiting sentencing.

Castro told the court during sentencing he had enrolled in a drug treatment program.

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.