Police search for suspect in Jan. 5 robbery

Police are asking for help identifying a suspect in a robbery that occurred Thursday at a business located within the Kaloko Business Center V on Kamanu Street in Kailua-Kona.

The suspect’s image was captured on a surveillance camera. The surveillance video also shows vehicles passing the shopping center at the time the suspect fled into the night, according to the Hawaii Police Department.

Responding to an 8:06 p.m. call Thursday, Kona patrol officers talked with a 63-year-old Kailua-Kona woman, who reported a man had entered her business, spending several minutes looking at merchandise in the shop. The man then rushed behind the cashier’s stand and grabbed a pair of scissors from the countertop. He confronted the shop owner with the scissors, then opened the cash register and removed an unknown amount of currency. The suspect then fled from the shop and was last seen running north on Kamanu Street, police said.

The shop owner was not injured during the robbery, police said.

The suspect is described as in his late 20s to early 30s, approximately 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, with a dark complexion, a full-groomed beard without a mustache, and short black hair. He was last seen wearing jeans, a white T-shirt, a black baseball cap with an unknown design on the front, and a large gold watch on his left wrist, police said.

Police also want to speak with a possible witness who had entered the shop while the suspect was present, but left before the robbery. The witness is described as a Caucasian male in his mid 20s.

Anyone with information about this case should call Detective Myra Iwamoto at 326-4646, extension 281, or the Police Department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311. Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 329-8181 in Kona or 961-8300 in Hilo. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential. — WHT