PUHI — Lesther Calipjo of Garden Isle Collision Repair got some bad news Monday morning.
“Lesther, the truck where you store some of your tools,” a repair technician said. “They’re gone.”
Someone broke into the Puhi repair facility around 3 a.m. and made off with a lot of tools.
“It’s frustrating,” Calipjo said. “The boys said he even took off all the covers from the motorcycles. He took as much as he wanted. We work so hard to get to where we’re at, and then to lose things — it’s devastating. The boys depend on these tools for their work every day. Without the tools, the jobs take longer. It’s just very frustrating.”
Calipjo said he filed a police report, and also submitted video footage from security cameras around the facility.
“We could watch every move he made,” Calipjo said. “He had a hoodie on for most of the time, but then, he took it off. We got you! He was in here for about an hour, and we could see what he was doing in all the sections he went.”
Adding to Calipjo’s frustration, he discovered his insurance does not cover the loss of the tools, which he values at more than $10,000.
“I was bummed out,” Calipjo said. “We have so many things to think about, and now, we need to replace the loss on our own. But we can recover. I want to put a stop to this kind of thing. I have my ideas, but I trust our finest men and women that they will do their job, and, maybe, we’ll even get back our equipment.”
The welders that were stolen cost about $2,000 each to replace, and the plasma cutter was another expensive piece, being recently replaced after the other one broke, Calipjo said. Other tools included his personal tools used during the development of the Philippine Cultural Center.
Calipjo said he wants to raise awareness that things like this
happen. In an effort at doing that, and wishing to recover his tools, he has taken to the Internet, posting a list of some of the equipment as well as a video showing the culprit at work, including a frame where the perpetrator is identifiable after removing his hoodie.
“If we’re feeling bad, just think about the smaller businesses like the mom-and-pop shops,” Calipjo said. “How do you think they would recover? People should think about the impact of their actions before going ahead and doing things like this. They have so much energy that could be used constructively and for the good of everyone.”
He told his employees there are good times and bad times.
“This is one of the bad times, but we’re not stopping. We’re moving forward.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
On an island + Video footage = Arrested by tomorrow morning??
How hard can this one be?
The article said Lesther has taken to the internet to help find the perpetrator and maybe his tools but the article provides no link that we can view, nor is there any information on Garden Island Collision Repair’s website and I even tried looking them up on Facebook as well but nothing there either. Sorry for your loss but I would suggest if you want help to make it a little easier to help you; either post a link or put the info on your website or Facebook page.
KPD is the least “finest” in the world… corruption is the right word! I am sick and tired of the police collusion with the thefts and distraction on Kauai….
This place is doomed!
The heroin/meth addiction fueled by opioid addiction and transplants are the root cause of these crimes.
Hawaiian/Podagee/Japanese Mafia on Kauai and the star of Hawaii are tied to the Mexican Drug Cartels who’s expedited this epidemic.
The sheer greed of these families are outrageous. The fact that the police depts, DLNR, county, state and federal employees are all apart of this multinational criminal organization should concern all people.
This is live home grown terrorism.
You think the money don’t go to fund the terrorist groups who attack, kill, murder, rape and many other evil deeds?
Think again!
Every stay vigilant and report to the Dept of Justice and Homeland security of suspicious individuals.
The east side to north shore of Kauai is littered with sleeper cells and Mexican mafia mules. They’re protected by Corrupt kid officers and the mafia they serve so Do Not Report to KPD, Hawaii DEA, or agencies related to just Hawaii.
If you send a report make sure you have hard copies and send to multiple agencies. Make sure you have connections to multiple media sources to disperse info.
The calling is now, we must fight against home grown terrorists and multinational criminal organizations.
This is a call to save and protect the island Kauai, the state of Hawaii and the United States of America.
Public officials on Kauai are gudots to drug game.
It’s one thing to steal other’s property, but to steal an employee’s tools that he/she depend on to make a living is no class at all. It should be changed to felony charges like cutting off a man’s arm so he cannot work to feed his family.
Lesther ….. Then best new tool investment for your business is a well trained dog that specialies in security.
Ironically, those tools that were being used for the construction of the Filipino cultural center were probably stolen by Filipinos.