HILO — A Puna man punched a 25-year-old Hawaiian Paradise Park man at least twice with brass knuckles last month as another man pointed a sawed-off shotgun at the victim, then took the victim’s backpack containing a debit card and personal identification number and used them to make multiple cash withdrawals, according to court documents filed by police.
HILO — A Puna man punched a 25-year-old Hawaiian Paradise Park man at least twice with brass knuckles last month as another man pointed a sawed-off shotgun at the victim, then took the victim’s backpack containing a debit card and personal identification number and used them to make multiple cash withdrawals, according to court documents filed by police.
Lucas Ryan Rivera made his initial court appearance Tuesday before Hilo District Judge Peter Bresciani, who set two preliminary hearings on different charges — the first was in Kona and the second at 2 p.m. June 6 in Hilo.
The 25-year-old Rivera, who has no permanent address, is charged with first-degree robbery, resisting an order to stop, revocation or modification of probation, marijuana possession, unauthorized possession of personal info and drug paraphernalia, two counts each of computer fraud, fraudulent use of a credit card and property damage, three counts each of driving a stolen vehicle and promoting a dangerous drug, and five counts of theft.
He’s in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of $436,000 bail.
Police had sought Rivera since at least May 1 when he allegedly eluded capture by officers attempting to serve bench warrants in Hawaiian Acres subdivision.
According to court documents, Rivera, who was driving a 1991 Honda sedan stolen the previous day from a parking lot near Ohelo Cafe in Volcano, used the car to ram the police cars of officers Lloyd Ishikawa and Whitman McCallum, damaging the officers’ vehicles, before driving away at a high rate of speed. Ishikawa reportedly had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck by the Honda.
The damaged Honda was found later that day abandoned on Pikake Street in Kurtistown, documents state.
Rivera allegedly then went on a spree that included the thefts of a 1986 Toyota pickup May 3 at Kehena Beach and 1992 Isuzu pickup truck May 5 in Pepeekeo.
According to documents, the robbery occurred May 18. The alleged victim told officers he was approached in front of his home by two men — one he later identified as Rivera from a photo line-up — and that Rivera punched him in the jaw and the back of the head with brass knuckles while the other man pointed the sawed-off shotgun. The two then allegedly made off with the victim’s backpack.
Rivera allegedly used the man’s debit card and PIN, which was written on a business card in the backpack, to make six withdrawals totaling $480 from an automated teller machine at Mountain View Mini Mart, all on the same day.
Rivera was arrested at 8:50 p.m. May 25 in Punaluu Beach Park in Ka‘u after a manhunt that started that day at 10:30 p.m. with police receiving reports of a white pickup truck speeding southbound on Highway 11 and overtaking vehicles between Kurtistown and Volcano.
Officers reportedly recognized Rivera driving the truck but decided not to pursue due to safety concerns.
Similar calls came in that afternoon of a white truck driving recklessly in Ka‘u. A white Nissan pickup, which was reported stolen the previous evening from Leilani Estates, was found abandoned near Punaluu Beach Park, and Rivera was apprehended without incident.
The alleged shotgun-wielding accomplice is still at large.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.