Part-Time Coach Held in Burglary

A football coach at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach was arrested on suspicion of burglary after allegedly being caught on videotape taking money from a neighbor’s apartment, Hermosa Beach police said Tuesday.

Police said they arrested Keawe “Steve” Kekuewa, 29, of Hermosa Beach after a neighbor conducted a sting operation.

The neighbor reported that small amounts of cash had disappeared from his apartment over the last year. The man told police he hid a video camera in his bedroom, put a $10 bill in a pair of shorts on the floor and left the apartment for the day, according to Hermosa Beach Police Officer Paul A. Wolcott. The neighbor returned to find the cash missing, reviewed the tape and turned it over to police.

Police said Kekuewa told them he had obtained a key to the neighbor’s apartment.

Jerry Davis, superintendent of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, said Kekuewa, nicknamed Coach K, has served as head coach of Mira Costa’s junior varsity football team for 10 years on a contract basis from September to December. He is one of several coaches who work part-time during a sports season.

The superintendent said that he did not want to prejudge Kekuewa’s case but that he and Mira Costa Principal Lynn McCormack would “do all we can to inform parents” about the situation.