Suspect in robbery of ‘Lost’ actor is caught
A 20-year-old man, suspected of robbing actor Josh Holloway and his wife at their Hawaii Kai home at gunpoint, was shot with pepper spray pellets and wooden rounds near an elementary school yesterday morning.
Ruben Royce is a suspect in several home invasion cases, according to a police source.
Police arrested Royce at 10 a.m. at Keanu Street and 7th Avenue near Aliiolani Elementary School, which was locked down, on a warrant. He was also arrested on suspicion of first-degree burglary, in which he allegedly broke into a Waipahu home Thursday and assaulted his girlfriend.
Police also arrested the 20-year-old Palolo man, who was the driver of the car Royce was riding in, on suspicion of two counts of reckless driving.
Royce was also arrested yesterday on three counts of abuse of a household member and two counts of violating a temporary restraining order from a previous incident.
A week ago, Holloway, who plays Sawyer on the TV series "Lost," and his wife were awakened by a man who entered their Hawaii Kai home and demanded money. He left with cash and their Mercedes-Benz. The car was found abandoned nearby.
Police said the suspect matches the general description given by the Holloways.
Yesterday, police had been staking out a house in Palolo where they believed the suspect was. When they failed to see him there, police began searching Palolo streets and spotted him riding in a white two-door Honda with a black hood.
They trailed the car until it was blocked by a police van. The car was unable to reverse. When the suspect was seen reaching for something under the seat, police fired nonlethal rounds, which sound like bullets fired from a shotgun.
A SWAT team of the Specialized Services Division, East Honolulu Crime Reduction Unit officers, and detectives from the Robbery Detail were involved in the arrest.
Police did not recover a weapon but are attempting to get a search warrant for the car.
At a news conference at the main police station yesterday, Capt. Frank Fujii said police received information that the suspect was wanted for a different burglary and a felony assault and was possibly armed with a firearm.
"Because of this past history of violence, we had reason to believe he presented a danger to the community," he said.
Fujii would not describe the less-than-lethal force used since it is under administrative investigation.
The two suspects were treated for injuries and released from a hospital and arrested, he said.
When asked whether police had gone after the suspect more aggressively than in any other case, Fujii answered, "No."
"It's the media that made the Holloway case a very high-profile case for us, but we've treated this investigation like every other investigation."
As for the possible danger posed by the arrest taking place near a school and homes, Fujii said: "The way it went down and because he posed such a danger, let's stop him whenever we can."
Royce has two prior felony convictions for auto theft. In an April 25, 2004, case, Royce was arrested on Poipu Drive, not far from the Holloways' house.
Star-Bulletin reporter Tim Ryan contributed to this report.