- Hawaii Police Department - https://www.hawaiipolice.com -

Banyan Tourist Robbed 05-17-01

HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
SOUTH HILO PATROL DIVISION
LIEUTENANT CHAD FUKUI
PHONE: 961-2311
MAY 17, 2001
G-69935

MEDIA RELEASE

A 24-year-old Alaska man was robbed Thursday (May 17, 2001) after catching a ride with two unknown males on Banyan Drive in Hilo.

The victim, from Fairbanks, Alaska, told police that while walking along Banyan Drive at about 10:35 to 10:50 a.m., he asked for a ride with two unknown males to a grocery store.

The victim was instructed to sit in the front passenger’s seat. He was driven to the Panaewa Street park on Ohu Ohu Street.

The driver parked the car, and the passenger in the back seat placed a black semi-automatic handgun to the back of the victim’s head and demanded money.

The victim removed his wallet and handed it to the suspect in the back seat. The suspect took about $500 from the wallet, threw the wallet on the victim’s lap and ordered him out of the car. The suspects then fled in the vehicle, described as being a 1980 Toyota Tercel two-door sedan, faded blue in color with unknown license plates, south on Ohu Ohu Street.

The driver of the vehicle is described as being a Polynesian male about 30 to 40 years old, being about 5-feet-10 in height, weighing 300 to 350 pounds with a heavy build, being dark complexioned and having short black hair and being clean-shaven. He was described as wearing a blue T-shirt and unknown colored shorts.

The rear passenger and gunman was described as being a Polynesian male in his early 30s, being about 6 feet in height, weighing about 170 pounds with a medium build, being dark complexioned and having short black hair with a black mustache and a goatee. He was wearing a white T-shirt, unknown colored shorts and a blue baseball cap.

Anyone with information about the incident or the suspects is asked to call Officer Kelly Matsumoto of the Hilo Patrol at 935-3311.

Those who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona. The numbers are answered 24 hours a day. Callers will be given a coded number and their identity will remain anonymous. Callers may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 if their call leads to an arrest, indictment or the recovery of property. Crime Stoppers neither subscribes to “Caller ID,” nor does it record phone calls.

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