MEDIA RELEASE

Patrick Elaban

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 (May 26) police responded to a home improvement store on the 300 block of Makaʻala 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.

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 (May 28) 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 (May 29).