Hilo Man Charged in 2015 Copper Theft

Greg Makaala Hiroshi Branco. HPD photo.

An arrest has been made in tconnection to wo incidents last June involving the theft of copper.

The Hawai’i Police Department reports that 24-year-old Hilo man Greg Makaala Hiroshi Branco has been arrested and charged in the incident.

A 52-year-old victim reported to authorities last year that 128 pounds of copper pipe had been removed from his warehouse in Pana’ewa on June 23 and June 25.

An investigation led to Branco, who reportedly recycled the copper, valued at $194, without permission. He was arrested on Saturday and taken to the Hilo police cellblock as Area I Criminal Investigation Section detectives continued to investigate the incident.

On Monday at 9:50 a.m., Branco was charged with theft of copper and his bail was set at $2,000.

Branco was also charged on Saturday on an unrelated bench warrant for failure to appear. His bail for that charge was set at $150.

Authorities say Branco remains at the cellblock awaiting his initial court appearance on Monday afternoon.