KAILUA-KONA — Hawaii Island police are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a person whose image was captured on video surveillance in connection to a robbery earlier this week in Hilo.
At 3:28 p.m. Tuesday, South Hilo Patrol officers responded to a report of a robbery that occurred fronting a retail store on East Puainako Street. Police determined that a man entered the retail store, selecting multiple items, before exiting the store without paying for them. The items had a combined value topping $100.
A 20-year-old male employee was threatened by the suspect with a weapon before fleeing the area in an early model gold Mercury 4-door sedan bearing licence plate HMD-052.
The suspect is described as being thin, in his mid 20s. He was wearing a dark-colored long-sleeved plaid shirt, a black hat with white print, glasses, and white shorts.
Police caution the public from approaching the suspect but instead call the police and provide a location of the suspect, who is wanted for first-degree robbery.
Anyone who may have witnessed the robbery or who knows the identity of the suspect should call Detective Kayne Kelii at (808) 961-2378 or email kayne.kelii@hawaiicounty.gov or the department’s nonemergency line at (808) 935-3311.