NAHA — An airman from Kadena Air Base pleaded guilty Friday in Naha District Court to two counts of theft and one of attempted theft.
Airman 1st Class Tyson Walker, 21, assigned to the 18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, apologized to the judge and expressed remorse during the opening session.
He has been under Japanese custody since his arrest Jan. 14.
Prosecutor Eisaku Yokoyama said Walker stole a shoulder bag and 45 other items worth about $410 from a car parked at a dental clinic in the Daito district of Nago at 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 14.
About 15 minutes later, he attempted to steal a CD case containing 32 music CDs worth about $510 from a car parked at a Lawson convenience store in the same neighborhood, Yokoyama said, but was apprehended by two people, one of them the owner of the car.
The two men held him until police arrived, he said.
During the ensuing investigation, police found that Walker was involved in a theft in December in Naha. According to evidence presented Friday, Walker stole a computer, a cash register and other items from a bar in the Makishi district of Naha, worth about $4,300.
Walker took the stand Friday and apologized.
“I look at a mirror and say, ‘Yes, I am a criminal,’” he tearfully testified, his head bowed. “It hurts me. It hurts other people, particularly, my mother.”
Walker’s attorney, Satoshi Kawamitsu, said after the hearing that the stolen items had been returned and Walker was making arrangements for jidan apology payments with money Walker’s mother sent from Arizona.
Jidan is a common out-of-court negotiation practiced in Japan to ease some of the resentment of the victims.
The next hearing in the case is set for April 16.
