LIHU‘E — This business of his business getting broken into every three months or so is getting old, said Gerry Charlebois, owner of Birds in Paradise. Generators, camera equipment, tools and hand-held radios were among the items taken in the
LIHU‘E — This business of his business getting broken into every three months or so is getting old, said Gerry Charlebois, owner of Birds in Paradise.
Generators, camera equipment, tools and hand-held radios were among the items taken in the latest burglary on the grounds of the state’s Port Allen Airport, also known as Burns Field, said Julie Mann, a Birds in Paradise employee.
The latest burglary happened between Thursday at 5 p.m. and 5 a.m. Friday, when the Birds in Paradise ground crew arrived for work, said Mann, adding that Skydive Kaua‘i was also burglarized over that same time period.
Charlebois said because he has no permanent shelter for his equipment and the remote nature of the area, insurance companies won’t even offer him coverage for crime losses.
Since the break-ins have similar styles, Mann thinks those responsible might be people with drug problems living on or near the beaches between Hanapepe Bay and the county Salt Pond Beach Park.
“There’s a very large sort of ice community living near the lighthouse,” she said.
Even Native Hawaiians maintaining the nearby salt pans have told her people have been stealing their tools and equipment, she said.
There used to be an elderly man who would sleep in his truck overnight and kept criminals at bay, she said. That man passed away.
Now, Charlebois has resigned to the fact that he needs to hire nighttime security officers and bring in a new trailer.
“We keep beefing it up and they keep finding ways to get in. We think it’s the same guys,” said Charlebois, adding that the burglaries seem to happen around every 90 days or so.
Around $5,000 worth of equipment was stolen this week from Birds in Paradise, he said.
The latest theft didn’t ground the company, though. They operated their business as usual Friday, said Mann.
“They don’t touch the aircraft,” which would constitute a federal offense, said Mann. They just look for items they can sell to support their drug habits, she added.
“We’re both tourism-based businesses, and when people hurt our business they hurt tourism,” Mann said, adding she hopes publicity of the continued criminal activity might prompt Kaua‘i Police Department officers “to get the police protection a little higher out here.”
