Pubdate: Fri, 22 Nov 2002 Source: West Hawaii Today (HI) Copyright: 2002 West Hawaii Today Contact: http://westhawaiitoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/644 Author: Andrew Perala Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Note: For more on ice eradication in Hawaii go to http://www.mapinc.org/areas/Hawaii ONE MAN'S ICE STORY Editor's note: This is the third and final in a series focusing on property crime and its impact on the community. Smoking so much "ice" he'd forget how many nights he'd been awake, cruising darkened neighborhoods to steal from carports, triggering arguments with his wife so he had an excuse to beat her - these are a few of the memories Thomas P. Gouveia III said he carries. "Lie, cheat and steal. I did it all. All for ice," he said. In the final three years of his decade - long spiral into ice or crystal methamphetamine addiction Gouveia's violence cost him a divorce, custody of his two children and earned him a felony abuse of a family member conviction. Gouveia belongs to a disgraced minority - ice addicts convicted of crimes. He also belongs to a significantly smaller group - addicts who admit addiction, attempt to repay victims and society, and daily struggle to remain clean. According to local social service agencies' data, as much as 90 percent of violence against family members is inflicted by ice users. County police statistics indicate virtually all property crimes in West Hawaii are committed by drug users, said Kona Police Capt. John Dawrs. "It's true," Gouveia said, ice addicts steal to buy more ice. The social costs are huge: more than 700 Big Island children in protective custody. Property losses can be staggering. On the Big Island in 2001, almost $4.7 million of property was reported stolen, yet only $700,000 worth recovered. Balanced against that recovery rate is one of the state's highest rates of case clearance in property crimes. Statewide, 10.8 percent of all property crimes were cleared in 2001; 22 percent were cleared in Hawaii County. "We're shooting to clear 33 percent of all burglaries," in 2002 said Dawrs of the Kona station's goals. Through August 2002, there were 1,636 thefts reported with a clearance rate of 28 percent. Of the 298 burglaries reported, the clearance rate was 14 percent. Police consider a case cleared when a report is turned over to prosecutors. Prosecutors said 70 and 80 percent of cases forwarded to their office result in conviction. "About 20 to 30 percent are screened out," said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Charlene Iboshi. "It depends on the quality of the police investigation." Dawrs credits patrol officers, who cover 12 patrol districts each shift with only eight officers and manage the paperwork of more than 1,000 cases and reports each month, for the relative success in clearing property crimes. "But we can't do it alone," Dawrs said. The support of community Neighborhood Watch groups organized by community policing officers like Stan Haanio is vital, Dawrs said. Gouveia said he's lucky, his conviction likely stopped him from permanently injuring his wife. Unlike many ice addicts who've lost their memories, Gouveia stopped smoking while he still had recall. Gouveia said he remembers an ice addict "friend" he brought to the hospital with a bullet hole through the foot. "He was glad he'd shot the metal bugs" crawling up his foot, Gouveia said. Cruising through neighborhoods at night, looking for things to steal, that's another act Gouveia said he wishes he had not done. "But on ice you don't care. Carports. Lots of carports. People leave so much stuff lying around." Gouveia denied breaking into homes to steal tools, electronics, jewelry or cash - the main traffic of the ice trade - but admitted he was with people who did. When Gouveia quit ice 23 months ago, he said he was so tired he couldn't remember even the smallest daily details. Gouveia's willingness to recognize the harm of his past actions, and his ongoing efforts to make amends are all part of the two, 12 - step programs he follows each day, he said. "I'm a batterer," he said. "I did it. No one else. Every day I remember that." Gouveia claims to have been clean and sober for almost two years. He works full - time as a laborer for a local contractor, checks in monthly with his probation officer and is tested at random times for the presence of illegal drugs or alcohol in his system. One or two weekends each month, Gouveia checks into the Hawaii Community Correctional Center in Hilo. He's served more than a third of his 180 - day jail sentence. As long as he keeps a full - time job, keeps clean drug tests, and violates none of the laundry list of other conditions of his five - year probation, Gouveia will serve only 180 days in jail. If he fails any condition, he could go back for five years. The threat of jail is a powerful incentive to stay straight, Gouveia said. "But I really want to be back with my kids." Gouveia hopes to regain shared custody of his daughter, age 5, and son, 6. His wife, he said, is reconsidering their former marriage. "We might get back together," he said. Gouveia has some practical advice for homeowners: "Lock everything up. Don't make it easy." - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk