HONOLULU-
A 47-year-old man accused chopping down a utility pole to steal its copper wiring was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass. He also faces several felony charges.
Alden Kaupiko was scheduled to appear in court Monday. His bail was set at $1,000. He also faces charges of second-degree property damage, criminal tampering and fourth-degree theft.
Kaupiko was arrested Friday at Koko Head District Park, where a utility pole had been chopped down, disrupting telephone service in the area.
Police said he was allegedly attempting steal copper wiring from a transformer. Forty pounds of wiring was recovered.
There have been several copper thefts on Oahu in past few months, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In September, thieves made off with more than 2 1/2 miles of copper wire they dug up along the H-1 Freeway in West Oahu. The wire connected 16 lights along the freeway from Makakilo to Kunia, which was already dark after being hit by thieves this summer.
