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Oahu auto
thefts soar 37% in
past 3 months
The key is shutting down
By Rod Ohira
chop shops, says the head of
HPD's auto-theft detail
Star-BulletinA 37 percent increase in reported auto thefts is part of an overall 7 percent jump in crime for the first three months of this year, says Police Chief Lee Donohue.
The present trend bucks the double-digit decreases Oahu has been experiencing since 1995, including a 10 percent drop in 1999.
"Crime is a complex problem," Donohue said. "We can't say we know why crime goes down (or up).
"But we're seeing the trend early so hopefully we can stop it."
According to Honolulu police statistics, there were 3,997 auto thefts reported on Oahu last year as compared to 4,750 in 1998.
Lt. Alan Anami, who heads HPD's auto-theft detail, says stopping the crime involves more than catching and putting thieves in prison.
"We lock auto thieves up, but there's always others out there to replace them because auto theft is lucrative," Anami said. "It's a $30-million-a-year crime in Honolulu.
"We've always been able to control the hands of the body but we need to refocus and take out the head, which is the chop shop. There would be no reason to steal cars without the chop shops."
Chop shops operate differently here than on the mainland, says Anami.
"Honolulu is unlike any other location," he added. "On the mainland, chop shops operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"Here, it's more part time. Some are connected to legitimate business. Others work out of homes or farmlands -- anyplace where you can repair and dismantle a car.
"Chop-shop investigations are long and drawn out."
Police raided an Ewa chop shop operation at 91-403 Pohakupuna Road on Jan. 23. Three people were arrested and police seized 10 cars.
The conspiracy involved purchasing wrecked vehicles and switching vehicle identification numbers with stolen cars of a similar make.
Auto theft has also taken on a violent look this year.
On Jan. 28, Dominic Kealoha allegedly shot Brandon Abellanosa at Depot Beach in Nanakuli in a dispute over a stolen car.
Kealoha was later involved in a 24-hour standoff with police on Farrington Highway that paralyzed traffic along the Waianae Coast. The standoff ended with Kealoha shooting himself to death.
On Feb. 16, Abellanosa, who had been arrested six times in 12 months for auto theft, was charged with stealing a car on the day he was released from the hospital.
