A 56-year-old Hilo man was charged with felony theft for stealing fruit from a Big Island farm in Hilo.
Hilo police arrested Gary Pavao at a Kaiwiki Road farm after he was caught with 14.7 pounds of longan allegedly taken without permission.
Hilo police responded to a call at 8:27 a.m. Monday and found the farm’s owners had held a trespasser allegedly caught with the fruit.
Police said that Pavao was linked to two other thefts of fruit from the same farm.
Pavao was charged with three counts of second-degree theft.
He made his initial appearance in Hilo District Court yesterday and remains in custody at the Hawaii County Correctional Center in lieu of $30,000 bail.
Longan is a tropical fruit related to the lychee.
Big Isle man charged in theft of exotic fruit – Hawaii News – Staradvertiser.com