Man admits to holdup of credit union
One of three masked men who robbed the Windward Community Federal Credit Union at gunpoint in a brazen holdup four years ago has pleaded guilty to federal robbery and firearms charges.
Wayne Kalai Miller, 22, was arrested June 6 as he checked into a Las Vegas hotel and casino, 3 1/2 years after the crime.
During questioning yesterday by U.S. District Judge Michael Seabright, Miller admitted to entering the credit union on Dec. 21, 2001, with two others intending to rob the place and holding up the shotgun to intimidate the customers and tellers.
In exchange for his guilty plea, the government will not seek charges against Miller in connection with a robbery at the American Savings Bank in Aiea on March 13, 2003, and a firearms offense in March 2005, said assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Porter.
The agreement also calls for Miller to pay $13,652 in restitution to the credit union and American Savings.
The Kailua High School graduate faces a maximum of 20 years' imprisonment for the robbery and a mandatory minimum of seven years up to a life term for the firearms offense.
The holdup, which took just minutes and was caught on surveillance video, occurred just before 4 p.m. on a Friday at the credit union's Kailua branch.
Miller kicked in the glass entrance door, shattering it. As he stood by with the shotgun, the two others with him jumped over the counters and took money from the drawers as the tellers stood in fear, according to an affidavit.
The trio wore dark, long-sleeved shirts, dark pants, gloves and black nylons pulled over their heads as masks.
Neither the money nor the shotgun was ever recovered.
The case would have remained unsolved had it not been for the persistence of the Honolulu Police robbery detail, the FBI and Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Porter said.
According to court documents filed in September, the two other men cooperated in the investigation, but no decision has been made yet as to whether they will be charged with federal crimes. Because they are minors, Porter could not comment.
Miller will be sentenced April 13.