Police just miss
bank robbery suspect

A woman is arrested in Waikiki
for hindering the investigation

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By Nelson Daranciang and Lisa Asato
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com
lasato@starbulletin.com

The manhunt for serial bank robber suspect Edward Leiffer continued this morning as police and the FBI followed up on several leads.

Police arrested a 43-year-old woman in Waikiki last night for hindering their investigation. Police would not say this morning how the woman is connected to Leiffer.

Detective Letha DeCaires said leads have poured in since the first bank robbery July 10, and police "just missed" Leiffer at a couple of locations yesterday.

CRIMESTOPPERS Police believe the man above, seen here at Hawaii National Bank, suspected to be Edward Leiffer, is responsible for at least six bank robberies.

"We've been a couple of steps behind him; we need to be zero steps behind," she said. DeCaires declined to pinpoint the area in which Leiffer was reportedly seen.

Witnesses identified Leiffer, 38, as the man who robbed the airport branch of Hawaii National Bank, 540 Lagoon Dr., about 11:30 a.m. yesterday, DeCaires said. The suspect passed a note to a teller, said he had a weapon -- though none was seen -- and fled mauka-bound on foot with an undisclosed amount of money in a plastic shopping bag, the FBI said.

Leiffer was charged last week with three counts of bank robbery for robberies occurring at:

>> City Bank Kapahulu branch July 10.

>> American Savings Bank Kaneohe-Kahuhipa branch July 28.

>> American Savings Bank Pearl City branch July 30.

Police also want to question him in connection with two other bank robberies last month.

Leiffer is wanted by Honolulu police for an outstanding state parole revocation warrant, as well as the federal warrant on the bank robberies.

The state warrant stems from a May 1993 felony drug promotion conviction. While on parole for the drug conviction, Leiffer was convicted of misdemeanor theft in September 1994 and contempt in June 1998, for which he was sent back to prison for 10 and seven days, respectively.

When Leiffer was arrested for the drug offense, he was on parole for two Class C felony terroristic threatening convictions.

And while awaiting trial for the drug offense in March 1993, Leiffer was convicted of two contempt charges.

Leiffer has 20 convictions in his criminal history in Hawaii, which dates back to February 1988 when he was convicted of the fraudulent use of vehicle license plates -- a misdemeanor.

The drug promotion and terroristic threatening convictions were the only felonies. The rest were either misdemeanors or traffic violations.

Leiffer was last seen wearing a light-colored T-shirt with a wave design on the back, shorts, a red baseball cap and wraparound sunglasses, the FBI said. He is 5 feet 10 inches tall, 180 pounds and has wavy brown hair and brown eyes.