Homeless man facing felony charge for taking bottle of rum

History of thefts could add up to at least one year in jail

WAILUKU -- A homeless man with a history of property crime convictions is facing a felony habitual property crime charge after he was arrested Tuesday for striking an employee while leaving a Kihei store without paying for a bottle of rum.

If convicted of the charge, Sterling Mason, 46, faces a mandatory minimum period of imprisonment of one year.

Under a law that took effect July 1, the habitual property crime charge can be brought against someone who commits a property crime after having convictions within the past 10 years for two felony or misdemeanor property crime offenses on different dates, said Deputy Prosecutor John Tam.

During a preliminary hearing Friday in Wailuku District Court, Judge Adrianne Heely found there was enough evidence to support the charge and a second-degree robbery charge against Mason.

Thomas Coker, a cashier and food clerk at Kihei Safeway, testified that he was walking toward the employee break room at about 2:40 p.m. Tuesday when a customer pointed out someone who was attempting to shoplift and had a bottle of alcohol in his pants.

Coker said he saw Mason bending over a drinking water fountain with his hands on his midsection. The top of the liquor bottle was sticking out of Mason's board shorts, Coker said.

"When I asked him, 'Are you OK, sir?' he started walking out of the store," Coker said. "I stepped a couple of steps closer, asked him if he was OK. That's when he turned around and he struck me, telling me, 'Watch your hands, watch your hands.'''

With his palm, Mason struck Coker in the chest, he said. "I momentarily stepped back from the impact," he said.

Coker said he was not injured and saw Mason leaving the store without paying for the 1.75-liter bottle of Bacardi rum.

Police recovered the unopened bottle when they arrested Mason shortly afterward at Azeka Mauka near the former Stella Blues restaurant, said Detective Barry Aoki of the Kihei Criminal Investigation Division.

He identified Mason as having a criminal history that includes convictions for second-degree unauthorized entry into a dwelling, a felony, and first-degree criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor. The convictions were in 2015 and 2014 cases.

Tam said the habitual property crime charge can also be based on a history of property crime convictions for one felony or misdemeanor and one petty misdemeanor or for three petty misdemeanors, all occurring on separate dates and for separate incidents.

In an exchange as Coker was leaving the courtroom after testifying Friday, Mason said, "I'm sorry," Tam said.

Coker replied, "Mistakes happen."

Deputy Public Defender William "Pili" McGrath questioned whether there was evidence to support the robbery charge, noting Coker wasn't injured and said the strike didn't cause him pain.

"It's such a light touch that it's not even clear to me it would qualify for a robbery," McGrath said.

Heely noted that Coker testified he was struck with enough force that he stepped back. She said the law also allows the charge when there's a threat of force in the course of committing theft.

Mason is being held in lieu of $11,000 bail at the Maui Community Correctional Center.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 3 in 2nd Circuit Court.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.