Police Charge Hilo Man in Multiple Hilo Burglaries

The Hawai’i Police Department has charged 19-year-old Keenan Acia with burglary, theft, and drug charges stemming from a variety of items stolen from Hilo homes.

Police arrested Acia on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 a.m. on a bench warrant as he was walking on Puainako Street in Hilo. At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of a backpack that police say was removed from a home on Kapualani Street the day prior.

Acia was taken to the Hilo police cellblock while detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigations Section continued to investigate. A search warrant was executed on the backpack and drug paraphernalia was found.

While in custody at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Acia was arrested on suspicion of burglary for two homes that had been broken into on Kapualani Street the day prior.

An 80-year-old man reported later Tuesday that a generator and golf clubs had been stolen from his Melani Street home. The report led police to execute a search warrant on a home also on Melani Street, where Acia lived with relatives. During the search, police recovered the golf clubs and also determined that a 55-inch flat-screen television that belonged to the relatives had been taken from the home.

Acia was taken to Hawai’i Community Correctional Center following his first court appearance on the probation violation charge on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

Later Wednesday, a search warrant was executed by detectives at a home on 22^nd Avenue in Hawaiian Paradise Park. It was at the HPP home that they recovered more items that had been stolen from one of the homes on Kapualani Street.

On Thursday police recovered the stolen TV and other items that were taken from another one of the homes on Kapualani Street.

Detectives charged Acia on Thursday at 2 p.m. with burglary, attempted burglary, two counts of theft, two counts of promoting a dangerous drug, and two counts of possessing drug paraphernalia. His bail was set at $78,000.

Acia’s initial court appearance for the offenses was scheduled for Friday.