Backpack theft leads to probation

LIHUE — A Kekaha man convicted of stealing a backpack off a camper while he slept at Polihale State Park was sentenced to four years probation.

Dylan Crowell, 23, appeared before 5^th Circuit Court Judge Randal Valenciano Thursday to listen to charges presented against him. He is guilty of theft in the second degree.

He was sentenced to four years HOPE probation and nine months in jail with credit for time served for stealing a green Patagonia backpack full of items, including an Apple iPhone 5c, ear bud headphones, an Albuterol inhaler and clothes, worth $300. Police tracked down Crowell by activating the iPhone tracker locator app and found the backpack with all the items inside of it.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney George White said the state has been dealing with Crowell in District Court for the past two years on a number of unrelated charges and wanted the court to take that into consideration.

“Mr. Crowell to his credit — I don’t know if that’s using the term loosely — has not escalated his offenses until this point where he has reached a felony level,” White said.

Crowell’s record includes disorderly conduct in 2011, two theft three convictions, criminal trespass two convictions, and a theft four charge in 2013, White said.

Because he tested positive every time he took a urine test for marijuana and meth, essentially failing regular probation, the state’s recommendation to the court for Crowell was six months jail time and HOPE probation with credit for time served, White said.

Defense attorney Craig De Costa said Crowell had been facing hardship and had only his grandmother and his grandfather’s support. He also recommended probation. He said Crowell had begun to take responsibility for the actions from prior criminal cases.

Valenciano said Crowell had many chances to take part in diagnostic testing that he did not take part in. He said because of that, he was recommending a high level of supervised probation and would not consider other criminal cases Crowell had pending against him.

“I know you are young,” Valenciano said. “I know you don’t have a serious record. You are building a criminal history. You haven’t had any felony convictions up until this time.”

Crowell has a number of open cases with the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, including a recent charge for possessing methamphetamine in October and a burglary one charge from 2014.

In the burglary case, Crowell was allegedly in possession of a makeup item previously stolen from a tourist’s room, said Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar.

He was charged with burglary in the first degree, criminal property damage in the fourth degree and theft in the fourth degree. The case is set for status on dismissal on Dec. 1 because parties reached a plea agreement.

Crowell was arrested on Oct. 6 for burglary, prohibited acts related to drug paraphernalia and for promoting a dangerous drug in the third degree.

According to police, Crowell was connected to a string of burglaries in Kekaha where two other Kekaha men, Jessie Borja, 25, and Jayson Yanos, 24, were said to be responsible for multiple break-ins on Kauai’s Westside.

Police arrested all three men, but the OPA’s office only charged Borja with first-degree burglary after he was caught in an apartment at the Kekaha Plantation Elderly Housing on Elepaio Road.

Yanos and Crowell were released pending investigation. Both men are facing criminal charges in Circuit Court on separate unrelated cases. Yanos is in Kauai Community Correctional Center on $100,000 bail for allegedly smashing a rear window of parked vehicle on Kokee State Park and stealing a purse.

De Costa said he is satisfied with the way Crowell’s theft two case played out.

“I think it was a fair plea agreement and a fair sentence by the judge,” De Costa said.

Crowell is set for a jury trial for his drug charges on Mar. 14.

••• Michelle Iracheta, cops and courts reporter, can be reached at 245-0424 or miracheta@thegardenisland.com. Follow Michelle on Twitter @cephira