Photo could be clue to attack
A picture might have been left by suspects in a Mililani robbery
Honolulu police are hoping that a photo on a key chain that might have been left behind by robbers will lead to their arrest.
Police and CrimeStoppers are asking the public for help in identifying the man in the photo in the hope of catching two men responsible for the brazen robbery of an 78-year-old woman Friday in Mililani.
The woman is the wife of former Honolulu City Councilman Toraki Matsumoto, according to KITV.
About 3:40 p.m. Friday, a neighbor called the woman after seeing two suspicious men in the woman's garage on Hokulewa Place.
The woman, who was home alone, opened the door that leads to the garage and a male suspect "rushed her," knocking her down. She suffered a broken rib and contusions.
Police said the two suspects ransacked the victim's house after they locked her in a bedroom. The suspects stole numerous items, including a portable safe, and fled in her 2003 four-door Cadillac.
Patrol officers spotted the Cadillac in Waikele, traveling erratically. The officers attempted to stop the vehicle but were unsuccessful.
Soon after, a Waipahu resident told police the vehicle was abandoned on Loaa Street by two suspicious men. Police found a set of keys in the vehicle that did not belong to the victim.
Attached to the key chain was a photo of a man sitting next to a woman.
"We're not saying he is the suspect," said Sgt. Kim Buffett of CrimeStoppers. "He may be. We don't know. We just need to find out if anyone has information on who he is."
The first suspect is described as a man in his 20s, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 240 pounds. He was wearing a white T-shirt, blue denim long pants and a red bandanna. The second suspect is also in his mid-20s, 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a muscular, heavy-set build. Police said he was wearing a baseball cap.
Anyone with information can call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
The incident was the second robbery of an elderly woman in Mililani Friday.
Nine hours earlier, a man carjacked a woman about a mile away on Alohilani Street.
Police said the two cases do not appear to be related.
Police said the woman was in her car in the driveway of her son's home on Alohilani Street to pick up her grandchildren. The suspect yanked her out of her car and threw her to the ground, said Capt. Moana Heu of the Wahiawa Police Station.
The man drove off in the 1994 Toyota Camry, with her purse inside the vehicle. The vehicle and purse were recovered at about 10 p.m. Friday in Mililani.
The 75-year-old woman suffered scrapes and bruises to her elbows and knees and an eye injury.
The suspect is described as his 20s, 5 feet 4 inches tall, and weighing 120 pounds with a medium build and dark complexion. He was wearing a tan- colored jacket and long pants.
CORRECTION Thursday, March 13, 2008
» Police said a 1994 Toyota Camry and a purse belonging to a 75-year-old woman were recovered at about 10 p.m. Friday in Mililani. Originally, this story incorrectly reported that the car and purse was recovered in Waipahu earlier that day.
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