One man remains hospitalized on Oahu and two men are in police custody following what police described as a violent robbery early Tuesday morning.
One man remains hospitalized on Oahu and two men are in police custody following what police described as a violent robbery early Tuesday morning.
According to the Hawaii Police Department, police responded to a reported robbery outside a restaurant on Henry Street at about 2 a.m. Tuesday. They said an acquaintance had reportedly approached a 25-year-old Kailua-Kona man and a 23-year-old Kailua-Kona man. The man then reportedly struck the 25-year-old in the head, arms and legs with a blunt object and stole both their backpacks. The assailant then left the area in a black sedan being driving by a second man.
The 25-year-old victim was taken to Kona Community Hospital with serious head injuries and later transferred to The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu, where he remains in stable condition. The 23-year-old victim was not injured.
A short time later, police located a car matching the description of the suspects’ car and learned that the sole occupant, Nohea Gene Heinicke, 43, of Kailua-Kona, was wanted on a bench warrant. He was arrested and charged with violating probation and held at the Kona police cellblock pending his initial court appearance on the bench warrant.
Meanwhile, at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, detectives arrested Heinicke on suspicion of robbery. At 1:25 p.m. Tuesday they arrested the second suspect, 28-year-old Randall Todd Chase of Kailua-Kona, also on suspicion of robbery.
Both suspects remain in police custody while Area II Criminal Investigations Section detectives continue the investigation.