Man convicted of theft receives 5-year sentence

A Kauai circuit judge sentenced a 31-year-old Kapaa man to five years in prison Wednesday after he stole a check belonging to an elderly woman and forged her signature.

Shawn Fajardo was hired by the victim in June 2012 to help her move while she cared for her ailing husband, according to a news release from the prosecutor’s office.

Fajardo was charg­ed with second-degree theft.

He pleaded guilty last month to several theft-related offenses in two other cases, one of them a first-degree burglary in which Fajardo broke into a neighbor’s home and took jewelry. Collectively, he stole more than $18,000 from his victims.

Fajardo is to be sentenced on Dec. 26 in the other cases.

He has been held at Kauai Community Correctional Center since December in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Emergency repairs to close section of road

Kulanihakoi Bridge on South Kihei Road will be closed today for emergency repairs.

The Maui Department of Public Works will install 1-inch steel plates to relieve stress on the deteriorating structure.

South Kihei Road will be closed from about 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Motorists are advised to use Piilani Highway and Kaonoulu and Kulanihakoi streets as alternate routes.

The area should reopen to traffic Friday morning.