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Monday, November 26, 2001



Man pleads not
guilty in bank attack

He set his car on fire and
vandalized Bankoh's main branch


By Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.com

A 49-year-old Honolulu man pleaded not guilty today to first-degree reckless endangering for allegedly setting his Mercedes-Benz on fire in a downtown intersection and then spraying fire extinguishers and paint at the main branch of Bank of Hawaii.

Richard Graham Elstner of Makaloa Street made his first appearance at District Court this morning. He is being held in lieu of $20,000 bail.

His preliminary hearing is set for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m in Circuit Court. Elstner faces up to five years' imprisonment if convicted of the Class C felony.

Witnesses said they saw Elstner set his car on fire in the intersection of King and Bishop streets at about 4 p.m. Friday. They said he removed a backpack and fire extinguishers from the trunk, then sprayed the extinguishers around but not on the car, in front of and inside the bank, and splattered red and blue paint across the bank's front entrance.

Three people were sprayed with the extinguishers.

Two of them were taken to Queen's Medical Center where they were treated and released.

Inside the bank, 20 customers and employees remained while a Fire Department hazardous-materials team field-tested the powder from the extinguishers for anthrax. The tests were negative.

The suspect's backpack was checked for radioactivity.

A police bomb squad then tested the pack. Detective James Anderson said Elstner appeared to be upset with the bank.

A witness said Elstner has protested at King and Bishop streets for months holding a sign that read "Pacific Century Thieves." Bank of Hawaii is a subsidiary of Pacific Century Financial Corp.



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