Former U.S. Postal Service employee Keoni Uehara admitted in federal court Monday that he stole a letter while working at the Aiea Post Office.

The letter contained a $100 Visa gift card.

Uehara, 32, faces up to five years in prison at sentencing in October for the theft of mail by a Postal Service employee. He also must pay restitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amalia Fenton told U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi that the restitution will be $100.

Uehara was working as a clerk, or sales and services/distribution associate, on July 17 when, he said, he “took a piece of certified letter containing a Visa card home from the post office.” Because the letter was certified with a tracking number, postal officials were able to pinpoint where the letter disappeared.

Fenton said Uehara previously has admitted to stealing the letter on several occasions. A grand jury returned an indictment against Uehara last month. U.S. Postal Service spokesman Duke Gonzalez said Uehara’s employment ended April 27.

Police searching for man with 17 convictions

Police are asking for the public’s help in finding a 28-year-old man who was one of six men convicted of an armed 2010 Palolo home invasion in May 2010. He is wanted for parole violation.

Kainoa Ah Mook Sang has 17 prior convictions and has a no-bail warrant for his arrest for violating parole. He is known to frequent the Honolulu area.

In May 2010 he and five other men broke into a 10th Avenue home armed with guns and knives, assaulted seven people and stole cash, a laptop computer and cellphones.

Ah Mook Sang was scheduled for trial Monday on charges of first-degree criminal property damage (intentional/knowing danger of death or bodily injury), felony abuse of a household member, first-degree assault of a law enforcement officer and misdemeanor assault, but the trial was continued to Sept. 11.

Ah Mook Sang is 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 156 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellphone.

Hot stove blamed for Mililani condo fire

The Honolulu Fire Department said Monday a Mililani condo fire that caused about $50,000 in damage last week was caused by a stove burner accidentally being turned on.

Honolulu Fire Capt. Scot Seguirant said combustibles were on the stove-top when the burner was turned on, igniting the fire, which was ruled accidental. Seguirant said a woman and her two children were sleeping at the time the fire broke out and were awoken by their barking dogs.

A smoke detector in the second-floor unit of the two-story condominium was not working.

The woman knocked down the fire with a fire extinguisher and was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

The fire at 95-510 Wikao St. started at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday and was extinguished at 9:06 a.m.

It caused $40,000 in damage to the structure and $10,000 in damage to the unit’s contents.