HONOLULU -- Prosecutors were outraged on Monday when a man who stole a huge amount of copper was given one year of prison time and probation by a state judge.

"I know what I did was wrong and I am truly sorry," convicted thief Shane Boyle said in court.

Boyle was caught in Hawaii's biggest copper caper. He was a warehouse manager for GrayBar, a wiring supply company, over a period of about 18 months. He used his position to divert about 100 reels of copper wiring to scrap dealers, which he sold for about $92,000, prosecutors said.

Hawaii seems to be suffering an epidemic of copper theft. Crooks have ripped off everything from streetlight wiring to plumbing fixtures.

Prosecutors said Boyle managed to steal an enormous amount of copper. The equivalent of the wire would stretch about 31 miles. That equals to the distance from Hawaii Kai to Waianae.

The prosecutor said someone who took that much copper, worth about $250,000, should go to prison for 10 years. Boyle, who has no criminal record, asked for probation.

"If I am put on probation I will be able to keep my job and pay whatever restitution I need to pay," Boyle said.

Judge Virginia Crandall agreed. She gave him one year in jail, five years probation and he must repay the company nearly $250,000 in restitution.

"The court is sentencing you to probation because you are an individual who can be rehabilitated," Crandall said.

Boyle's former manager, who was forced to resign, was outraged.

"It cost a lot of people jobs. It cost a lot of people a lot of money. I think for him to walk away from this is an atrocity," former GrayBar manager Dave Pysher said.

The prosecutor said the judge gave a green light to copper thieves.

"It sends a terrible message to this community -- that the courts will not take the theft of copper seriously,"

Boyle's lawyer said a year in prison is serious, and that a case of stealing from an employer is different from ripping off public facilities.