The 21-year-old man who allegedly held an elderly couple hostage in their Round Top home has been arrested for the kidnapping of a 16-year-old boy, police said. Hostage suspect
arrested againHe faces new charges in connection
with a Sept. 27 kidnappingStar-Bulletin staff
The suspect, Vernon D.K. Johnson Jr., was arrested yesterday at the cellblock in connection with a Sept. 27 kidnapping after being positively identified by the boy, said Det. Nani Kaopua of the Honolulu Police Department. Another man was arrested in October for his role in the alleged kidnapping in which the perpetrators demanded $600 for the boy's release, she said.
The boy was released the same day unharmed, police said. No money was exchanged.
Johnson was also arrested in an unrelated August assault case in which he allegedly punched the driver of a car in the face several times before fleeing, police said.
Charges in all the cases were expected to be handed down this afternoon, Kaopua said.
Johnson, who has no known address, has been in police custody since a six-hour standoff with police Tuesday night.
Johnson allegedly abandoned the stolen Honda he was driving and broke into an elderly couple's home at 2325 Round Top Dr. Police entered the house and he surrendered peacefully later that evening.
At the time of Tuesday's confrontation, Johnson had been wanted by police for violating probation relating to two 1999 felony theft cases, including stealing a ring from Zales Jewelers valued at more than $300.