MEDIA RELEASE

Hawaiʻi 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 in Hilo.

At 3:28 p.m. Tuesday, (March 26), 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 male suspect entered the retail store, selecting multiple items, before exiting the store without paying for them. They were valued in excess of $100.00. 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 plate #HMD-052.

The suspect is described as, thin, in his mid-20’s. 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.

Police ask anyone who may have witnessed the robbery or who knows the identity of the suspect to call Detective Kayne Kelii at (808) 961-2378 or email kayne.kelii@hawaiicounty.gov or the Police Department’s non-emergency line at (808) 935-3311.