Molokai Drive-Inn Burgled

Cash register stolen

This customer didn’t want any fries with his meal. He didn’t even want a meal at all. He just wanted what was in the register, but couldn’t quite get to it.

“They got away with the register, but we got it back,” said Sam Cariaga, manager of the Molokai Drive-In “They didn’t get the money.”

On a busy Friday evening on Dec. 28, 2010, the perpetrator walked into the Drive-Inn around 7:30. The suspect, identified as a 5’11” to 6’ male, reached into the order window and snatched the register while the workers in the back.

The police found the register near Paddler’s Inn wrapped in a hooded sweatshirt and a Molokai High 2009-2010 wrestling t-shirt. The money, which totaled to about $1,000, was found untouched inside the register.

“I was really busy. I was refilling some stuff in the back and all of the sudden, we heard this big noise in the front and he started running towards Paddler’s,” said Nilda Dilla, who was working that evening. She has been working at the restaurant for 17 years.

“I am really disappointed,” she added. “I didn’t think something like this would happen in Molokai.”

Molokai Drive-In has been in business for 47 years. This is their first robbery, and management said they have taken new security measures to ensure extra safety. A new camera has been installed and the register has been locked down.

“You wouldn’t think something like this would happen on Molokai,” Cariaga said.

The Drive-Inn wasn’t the only business on Molokai that experienced break-ins over the holidays. Swenson Reality, Dr. Dan McGuire’s medical practice, Subway, and Misaki’s were also burgled.

If you have any information regarding these robberies, please contact the Molokai Police Department, 808-553-5355.