I have taken down the burglary photos.
The burglar’s family has intervened, after learning about the burglary.
We have recovered most of what was taken.
We are now trying to negotiate a good outcome with the family, and with the burglar.
They recognize that he may have to pay a price, but have been trying to keep him out of trouble, recognizing his drug issues, etc.
We still have to figure out how to proceed. Prosecution is not our highest priority, as was the case the last time we were ripped off.
But what is justice in this kind of case? Right now, that’s not clear.
Discover more from i L i n d
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Don’t mean to be blunt but letting this guy off the hook only let’s him do this to someone else. Sure I know what you mean about justice and nobody wants to contribute to overcrowded prisons . But this isn’t his first time and it won’t be his last if he doesn’t receive his due punishment. My house was recently burglarized and a car was stolen I to felt bad but if I didn’t catch them they would have kept going . To me if you ask people to help you find this person and let him go without punishment it’s a slap in our face for trying to help. And you could possibly set someone else up to receive this same misfortune.
As a former elementary school teacher I believe in restorative justice for kids- you must admit guilt and are accountable to the victim and you do what the victim thinks will make him/ her whole again, or whatever will make the situation pono again. In the case of an adult, I feel a bit differently- I feel there should still be restorative justice, but there should also be a consequence and punishment- especially if it’s found to be the case of a serial burglar- if for no other reason then to protect the rest of the community. If it’s found to be an issue of the burglar being a drug addict, then I would also support inclusion in Drug Court and Court-ordered rehab, but there still needs to be restitution to Ian for anything not recovered and for anything that may have been damaged. Bottom line, if the family is in denial about the seriousness of the situation and wants to keep the burglar “out of trouble”, they are probably in denial- unless he is also suffering from a mental health illness. The family should be relieved to have the burglar get “in trouble” so that he will be forced to get the help he needs. He probably has been stealing from them, also, to pay for drug habit.
I would love to know what brand & model your security camera is. The picture is very clear.
There’s two different laws involved. One is criminal law, the act was a violation to society. That should go through. You’d be a witness, not the plaintiff. The other is civil law where you could sue. In either, maybe there can rehab as the judgment. (I hope I got that right! I’m pulling from memories of an intermediate school guidance class taught by a policeman named Dorothy.)
My thoughts… Have been burglarized a few times since living in Punalu`u. I recently installed cameras in the hopes of catching someone in the act. The cameras did not deter this individual, maybe because they were not obviously visible or maybe because when people are drug abusers and high at the time, they just don’t care. I hope this person gets clean. None of us want to be his next victim. I hope the family does the right thing. It might be wise to have him off the streets. I’m not on board with the direction they are considering. Just my 2 cents, having been a victim of burglars 3 times in the past dozen or so years out here……
You owe it to all the the folks that have been ripped off before to prosecute this guy to the fullest. Send a lesson to all those would-be thieves and druggies that crime will land you in police custody no matter how nice your family is. They need to stop making excuses and let their boy or brother go to jail, and hopefully get some rehab if he actually does have a problem. I’d be saying this even if it was my own son or daughter caught making a victim out of another human being. A drug habit is no excuse.
exactly. people don’t just catch meth addiction like cathing a flu. they addict themselves to meth by smoking meth. age is a factor but some dudes say they are sorry, then commit the crime, say they are sorry, then commit the crime, say they are sorry, then commit the crime, say they are sorry, then commit the crime…………..
I agree that there’s a burden created by this person’s apparent history of crime, including at least one other recent burglary that I’m now aware of. It does appear to support prosecution, despite my misgivings about the outcomes of imprisonment.
Your story touched me! I got robbed in April 2013. At the time, we did not have any security system. We now have an alarm system with window and door sensors. But we have no idea which camera system to buy. We want a good one with good picture. But we don’t want one too pricey. May I please ask which one do you have? And where did you purchase from? We always still unsafe in our house. And we would like to SEE the perpetrator if we ever have one again … Which we are hoping we never have to confront another burglar again … 🙁
Sumi, Make sure your security system is connected to a satellite feed and not just the phone lines. Burglars usually cut the phone lines before entering.