A Puna man faces a felony offense after struggling with a store employee who tried to detain him for shoplifting.
At 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to a home improvement store on the 300 block of Makaala Street in Hilo. A store employee had reportedly seen a shopper attempting to leave the store without paying for items in his possession. When the employee attempted to detain the suspect, the suspect reportedly struck the employee, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
The suspect, Patrick K. Elaban of Mountain View, was arrested at the scene. He was taken to the Hilo police cellblock while detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigations Section continued the investigation.
At 9:10 a.m. Thursday, detectives charged him with second-degree robbery. His bail was set at $5,000. He remained at the cellblock until his initial court appearance on Friday.