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Homeless man charged with theft

Bail was set at $16,000 for a homeless man who admitted to stealing a backpack from a vehicle, according to police.

Thomas McGinnis, 62, had the backpack when he was arrested shortly before noon March 15 when officers were called to investigate a report of a man being disruptive at the Salvation Army in Lahaina, police reported.

The backpack was reported stolen from a vehicle parked at medic quarters in Lahaina the night of March 14 or morning of March 15, police said. Medical supplies in the backpack were thrown on the lawn nearby.

McGinnis told police he stole the backpack because he was angry at the medic for not taking him to the hospital the night of March 14, according to police.

In addition to first-degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and fourth-degree theft, McGinnis was charged with two counts of habitual property crime.

The felony charge can be brought against someone who commits a property crime within 10 years of two prior convictions for felony or misdemeanor property offenses.

A conviction for habitual property crime carries a mandatory one-year jail term.

McGinnis has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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