City prosecutors will seek a maximum five-year prison term for a man convicted yesterday of stealing copper from the Honolulu Board of Water Supply building on Kapahulu Avenue and causing more than $1,500 worth of damage.

Michael Handy, who has no local address, was convicted of a petty misdemeanor of stealing less than $100 worth of copper, but the criminal property damage conviction carries a maximum prison term of five years.

City Deputy Prosecutor Franklin Pacarro Jr. said he will ask for the maximum term as a way to help deal with a series of copper thefts that caused $700,000 worth of damage in Hawai'i last year alone.

The message, he said, is "if you get caught, we're going to send you to jail."

Deputy Public Defender Lee Hayakawa said he will ask for probation for Handy and credit for about eight months he served behind bars. Circuit Judge Steven Alm scheduled Handy's sentencing for Sept. 4.

Although Handy has been in custody unable to post bail, Alm granted Pacarro's request to hold him without bail pending sentencing.

Handy is the first person on O'ahu to go on trial on a felony charge related to copper thefts.

He was identified by witnesses as the man who was on top of the BWS facility ripping out what appeared to be rain gutters about 4 a.m. on May 26 of last year. Handy denied he was the thief and testified he was there to find a safe and peaceful place.

The jury needed only about an hour and a half of deliberations before finding Handy guilty of the felony criminal property damage charge and petty misdemeanors of stealing the copper and trespassing on the property. The petty misdemeanors each carry to up 30 days in jail.

As the price of copper rose and recyclers were paying $2.30 to $3 a pound for the metal, a rash of copper thefts last year prompted law enforcement to push for stronger penalties for copper thieves.

The state Legislature this year passed a law that now makes the theft of a pound or more of copper a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Because the Board of Water Supply theft occurred before the law was passed, Handy could only be charged with petty misdemeanor because the value of the copper was less than $100.

But because he was arrested at the scene, city prosecutors were able to charge Handy with the criminal property damage felony by contending he was responsible for the damage.

Pacarro contended the damage caused by Handy cost about $7,000.

Anyone caught stealing more than a pound of copper now can be charged with the felony under the new law.

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.