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Police arrested a 34-year-old Moanalua man who was severely burned earlier this year when he allegedly attempted to break into an electrical vault near the former Hard Rock Cafe to steal copper wire.
The suspect turned himself in at the main police station Monday morning after police had contacted him. He was arrested for criminal property damage and was in the South Beretania Street cellblock Tuesday morning before being released pending further investigation.
After the accident on Jan. 5, the man was taken to Straub Hospital & Clinic in critical condition. Witnesses said he had burns on his face and body. Police could not say how long the suspect had been hospitalized.
Police said a man was seen running from the transformer vault "screaming for help" after he had cut a live wire.
Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman Darren Pai said the incident caused a fuse to blow at HECO’s McCully substation across Pumehana Street from McCully Shopping Center. At least two fireballs, reaching as high as 50 feet, were reported after the vault exploded, witnesses reported.
Police said the incident caused about $20,000 worth of damage.
About 450 HECO customers in the McCully-Kapiolani area, including Ala Moana Center, lost power for three to four hours.
Police are investigating another copper theft which resulted in a man being severely burned earlier this month.
A 45-year-old man was taken in critical condition to Straub Clinic & Hospital’s burn unit Sept. 1 after he allegedly tried to steal copper wiring from a Sand Island warehouse. He remains hospitalized.
Roy Yee, who owns the empty warehouse at 290 Sand Island Road, said thieves have stripped all the copper wiring and piping from the building over the past three months.
The suspect was apparently trying to take about 10 feet of wiring connecting the building’s disconnect switch to HECO’s transformer, Yee said.
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