Man acquitted of burglary but found guilty of theft, mischief

A jury acquitted Benjamin Mafnas Hattori yesterday of burglary but Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho convicted him of theft and criminal mischief in connection with the burglary of a store on Rota owned by former mayor Melchor Mendiola.

After deliberating for an hour in Superior Court on Rota, the six jurors returned a not guilty verdict on the charge of burglary.

Camacho, who decided the misdemeanor charges, found the 37-year-old Hattori guilty of theft and criminal mischief.

Sentencing will be on Dec. 4, 2015, at 10:30am at the Rota Courthouse.

Camacho said he has considered the testimony and credibility of witnesses and the arguments of assistant attorney general Emily Cohen and court-appointed defense counsel Colin M. Thompson.

The judge found credible all four government witnesses: a cashier at the Harvest Store, an accountant at Harvest Store, police officer Joseph Q. Camacho, and lead police investigator George Barcinas.

Barcinas testified that he received a tip that Hattori was involved in the burglary at Harvest Store on May 25, 2012, and that the suspect willingly confessed to breaking the store’s glass door and cutting his hand in the process.

Camacho said Hattori knew that breaking the glass door would help his co-defendants—Daniel Rangamar and another juvenile—gain access into the store.

Rangamar has already pleaded guilty.

Hattori argued that all he did was break the glass door but did not participate in the theft. Camacho found this unbelievable.

“The manner of how the door was broken—the lower part—indicates that it was done so to allow a person to enter into the building,” the judge noted.

Camacho said Hattori’s own confession puts him at the crime scene in the middle of the night and the fact that Hattori confessed to using a cinder block and taking three hard strikes to break the glass door indicates the intent to get into the building.

“This was no accident or a simple damage to property. There was purpose and intent to enter into the building,” he pointed out.

He said Hattori’s actions helped others to gain access into the building to take cigarettes, the cash register, and coins worth $59.

Camacho said Hattori’s discussion with his co-defendants about the money and cigarettes indicated that he was concerned about his “share of the loot.” The cigarettes and coins were never recovered.

Camacho said the government has proven theft and criminal mischief beyond a reasonable doubt.

The trial began last Tuesday.