Waikiki mugging Sebastiana Podell has a black eye, a broken nose and a fractured jaw after being beaten by a man who tried to steal her purse Sunday in Waikiki.
leaves visitor
badly bruised
The victim holds onto her purse
and takes a sound beating for itBy Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.comThe 65-year-old visitor from California said she, her husband and her 21-year-old niece were walking along Paoakalani Avenue at about 11 p.m. when she felt a pull on her purse strap.
Before she knew it, Podell said, she and a strange man were in a tug of war for her purse and ended up sprawled on the sidewalk at Paoakalani Avenue and Lemon Road. That's when Podell said the man started to hit her.
"I felt a pounding on my face, and I remember lots of blood everywhere," said Podell. "I thought I was screaming very loudly for help, but my voice was not coming out."
Honolulu police and CrimeStoppers are asking for the public's help in identifying Podell's attacker.
The suspect is described as a male in his 20s, 5 feet 10 inches tall, 170 pounds, with a muscular build, dark complexion and either short hair or a bald head. He was last seen wearing blue overalls with no shirt underneath and left his left shoe behind, according to CrimeStoppers.
Podell said her 68-year-old husband had tried to help but was thrown to the ground by the suspect and kicked in the head and ribs. Her 21-year-old niece was also "thrown into the bushes," according to Podell.
"There were legs, bodies ... and I do not know what happened," she said while describing the scene.
Police said the commotion attracted a number of bystanders who helped to chase the suspect away and followed him on foot to Kapahulu Avenue.
Police said he was last seen getting into a white two-door Acura or Toyota and then left the area.
Podell, who stands about 5 feet and weighs about 120 pounds, managed to hold on to her purse this time but said that she had her things stolen twice before while vacationing in Hawaii. Both of those incidents, however, involved thieves breaking into cars.
This was the first time that Podell was physically attacked, and she was concerned that others could be hurt by the suspect if he is not caught soon.
"The past few nights, I have been thinking about maybe I should have let go of the purse," she said. "But I did not expect that the man would be so vicious."
"She's very brave, and she's going to help us solve this case," said CrimeStoppers Detective Letha DeCaires.
"When we have victims of crime that are brave enough to continue on, that's how we solve crimes, and that's how we keep from having series of cases and multiple victims: when we get someone brave enough to come help us," she said.
Anyone with any information about this case is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.