First-degree robbery is a class A felony punishable by a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to 20 years incarceration without the possibility of a suspended sentence or probation, according to Hawaii Revised Statutes.
BY CHELSEA JENSEN
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com
A 22-year-old Kailua-Kona man is in police custody in connection with two robberies reported earlier this month in the Kona District.
Police arrested the man around 1:45 p.m. Thursday after he fled on foot from an apartment complex on Lunapule Road and hid in bushes several hundred yards away, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
He was taken into custody on suspicion of two counts of first-degree robbery, Area II Criminal Investigations Section Lt. Gerald Wike said Friday before noting tips from the public helped police locate the man.
West Hawaii Today is withholding the man’s identity because he had yet to be charged with a crime as of press time on Friday. Police have through this afternoon to file charges or release him pending further investigation.
A search of the state Department of the Attorney General’s criminal record system showed no prior convictions for the man.
The Thursday arrest stems from separate robberies reported Jan. 5 in the Kaloko Light Industrial Area and Jan. 12 at the Keauhou Store in Holualoa, according to police.
In the Jan. 5 incident, a 63-year-old Kailua-Kona woman reported to police that a man had entered her Kaloko Business Center V store and confronted her with scissors before he took an undisclosed amount of money from the store’s cash register. The man then fled on foot. The woman was not injured, according to police.
One week later, on Jan. 12, a 34-year-old cashier at the Keauhou Store reported a man had entered the store and forcibly removed an undisclosed amount of cash from the register. The woman suffered minor injuries, but did not require medical treatment, according to police.
The store’s surveillance system captured images of the suspect and another man, who remained outside the store and appeared to be on the lookout, according to police. The two reportedly fled in a white Jeep Wrangler.
Police on Jan. 13 located the white 1998 Jeep Wrangler Sahara associated with the Keauhou Store robbery and arrested 41-year-old Roger Rasmussen of Kailua-Kona, according to police. Rasmussen, the vehicle’s registered owner, was charged on Sunday with being an accomplice to robbery and his bail was set at $50,000.
First-degree robbery is a class A felony punishable by a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to 20 years incarceration without the possibility of a suspended sentence or probation, according to Hawaii Revised Statutes.