Two armed men rob
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
pawn shop on Piikoi
Star-BulletinHonolulu police hope surveillance videotapes will help identify two armed men who robbed a pawn shop yesterday.
The suspects made off with an undisclosed amount of jewelry.
The 48-year-old owner of Ala Moana Buy and Sell Inc. was hit on the back of the head with an unidentified object. He was treated at Queen's Hospital for scrapes, cuts and bruises and released.
Police Det. Alan Matsumura said two men -- one brandishing a semi-automatic handgun, the other a long knife -- entered the Piikoi Street establishment shortly before noon and ordered the owner and three customers to lie down.
Witnesses said the robbers smashed a glass case and fled on foot carrying one and possibly two trays of jewelry.
The entire incident may have taken less than a minute, police said.
Police found two gold chains on Lopaka Street, just behind the pawn shop, but could not confirm yesterday whether they were taken in the robbery.
The original call to dispatch reported shots fired, but police could not confirm those reports either.
One of the suspects was identified as a man in his 30s, wearing a gray T-shirt, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, heavyset, and had short black hair. The other man, in his 40s, was 5 feet 6 inches tall, gray haired and wore a long, gray trench coat.
Matsumura said detectives will review tape from the store's video surveillance system.
Police closed off the makai-bound lane of Piikoi between Lopaka Street and Kapiolani Boulevard for nearly two hours as they investigated.
