Puna Man Charged with Nine Offenses

Dyson Dale Sarme-Medeiros. HPD photo.

A 23-year-old man has been arrested and charged with nine offenses in connection with a string of property crimes on agriculture lands in the Keaʻau area.

The suspect is identified as Dyson Dale Sarme-Medeiros of Mountain View.

From the latter part of 2015 to the present, agriculture property owners and farmers in the Keaʻau area have been reporting an increased number of thefts and property damage.

Community Policing officers, working in conjunction with farmers, land owners and Neighborhood Watch groups, focused resources toward this crime trend and identified suspects.

On Wednesday morning, Oct. 26, officers located and arrested Sarme-Medeiros. On Thursday, Oct. 27, he was charged with two counts of burglary, two counts of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, three counts of theft and one count each of unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle and criminal property damage.

His bail was set at $14,500. He remains in custody pending his initial court appearance scheduled for Friday, Oct. 28, in South Hilo District Court.

Police ask anyone with information about these incidents to contact Officer Jeremy Kubojiri at 965-2716 or jeremy.kubojiri@hawaiicounty.gov.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the island-wide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.