Hot gems recovered
on HPD Web site

A Big Isle woman recognizes 21 items
burglarized from her home in 2003

When Big Island resident Roberta Brashear-Kaulfers had her Hawaiian Acres home burglarized two years ago, she never expected that some of her stolen items would end up in the Honolulu Police Department evidence room.

And yet there they were, sitting in plastic bags, confiscated by police from Ziggy's Pawn Gold and Diamond Buyers in Kapahulu on April 9. The biology lecturer at the University of Hawaii at Hilo flew to Oahu on Thursday to confirm that the items were indeed hers, and positively identified 21 stolen pieces of jewelry she had all but given up on.

"A friend told me to check out the Web site after he saw the news, but I never expected to find anything," she said. "I was pretty shocked.

"Before I got here I was hopeful. ... Now I'm ecstatic."

On Aug. 22, 2003, Brashear-Kaulfers came home to find that someone had burglarized her home in broad daylight. She said she reported the incident to police and even did her own reconnaissance at Big Island pawnshops.

"They told me if it's high-ticket items, it's going to Honolulu," she said. "Apparently, that's what happened."

Brashear-Kaulfers' big-ticket items included three jade bangles, a diamond ring and three black pearls she bought in Tahiti. She said she even found some onyx earrings her mother had given her, and a watch that she has had since she was 16.

"I looked at it and said, 'That's it,'" she said. "I remember I was going to put a new band on it."

About 700 to 800 stolen items from Ziggy's have been featured on the HPD Web site since July. They will be online for about two or three more weeks. Previously, about 2000 stolen items from Local Pawn on Smith Street, which was raided the same day as Ziggy's, were on the Web site.

Police were hoping that by featuring the pawnshop items online, burglary and theft victims would be able to claim their stolen goods. However, they were surprised to locate neighbor island theft victims.

"When we began the investigation, we didn't even think it would extend that far," said acting Detective Clem Enoka. "We're pretty happy because at least we know our system is working.

"Hopefully, more people check out the Web site before we take it down and find their stuff. ... That's the main thing."

The property can be viewed online at www.honolulupd.org.