Hilo couple arrested for burglary, theft

Police arrested a Hilo couple Thursday after receiving a report of a man breaking into a vehicle.

Shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday, a citizen reported a man breaking into a vehicle at the Hilo Bayfront area. The man, after being confronted by the citizen, left in a vehicle being driven by a woman. This vehicle was later located by officers in the area of the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

At 7:50 a.m., police arrested 33-year-old Aubrey A. Harper and 37-year-old Gregory P. Harper, both of Hilo. Investigators determined that the couple may have been involved in two separate burglaries which occurred earlier in the week in Puna, police said.

On March 1, the caretaker of a Kalapana Seaview Estates home reported confronting a man and a woman leaving a home on Moaniala Street. The pair left in a vehicle with items that had been removed from the home. On March 2, a Leilani Estates woman reported finding that her home on Malama Street had been broken into and that a television and other items had been removed from within.

Officers were able to recover some of the items removed in these burglaries and link them to the couple.

On Friday, Aubrey Harper was charged with two counts of first-degree burglary, second-degree theft, fourth-degree theft, reckless endangering and a variety of traffic offenses. Her total bail was set at $14,275.

Gregory P. Harper was charged with two counts of first-degree burglary, second-degree theft, unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, theft in the fourth-degree and resisting arrest. His total bail was set at $14,750.

The couple appeared in court Monday.