A 47-year-old Mililani restaurant owner who was raped and robbed by a 44-year-old homeless man said she thought she was going to die.

“;His face looked like a criminal,”; she said. “;I said, 'I'm dying tonight.'”;

She said she fought and tried to scream for help, but the man held his hand over her mouth and nobody heard her cries.

“;I thought I was a tough woman, but when somebody got a weapon,”; she said, she had to change her tactics to survive and talked nicely.

The woman said an employee left the Mililani Shopping Center restaurant through the back door sometime around 9 p.m. Thursday, and the man entered shortly afterward.

“;He punched me and twist my mouth,”; she said, causing her to lose three teeth. “;He's professional. He's been doing that before.”;

  Mililani Shopping Center assault leaves business owners worried

 

A Mililani restaurant owner is recovering after being raped, robbed, and beaten.

 

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She said she first tried to fight after he put her on the floor and started to remove her clothes and raped her repeatedly.

The ordeal lasted about two hours, she said: “;I was fighting. He dragged me here. He dragged me there. I made noise. I want somebody to hear. He said, 'Shut up.' Obviously, nobody hear.”;

The woman said the man used a sharp instrument and left scars on her neck. She said he planned to take her somewhere, but she said she was tired and lay down. When he went to look for something to tie her up, she moved slowly and got out and ran to the Fastop convenience store, where she asked the clerk to call for police.

Officers found the man still inside the restaurant and arrested him on suspicion of first-degree robbery, first-degree sexual assault, kidnapping, second-degree burglary and second-degree assault.

The suspect has a criminal record.

He has 38 convictions in Hawaii—mostly misdemeanors for contempt of court, but also including resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and third-degree assault. He has four felony drug convictions, according to the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center.

He was convicted on Feb. 3 of fourth-degree criminal property damage and sentenced to six months of probation, Data Center records showed.

Some working in the Mililani Shopping Center were on edge yesterday after learning of the robbery and rape, and others were shocked and angered.

“;It makes me scared,”; said Danielle Deostachio, who works at the nearby Waldo's Pizza, which closes anywhere between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. “;That could have been any one of us girls. What if we were out back putting out the trash?”;

Kekoa Biroan, who works at Subway, said, “;We've noticed a lot of suspicious people hanging around at night. ... When we throw trash out, we go in groups.”;

Biroan said he was robbed of his wallet when he first started working there.

A security guard at the shopping center who works for Securitas said that he focuses on the nearby bar, the Shack, where most of the problems arise. He said he was on a break at midnight and found out about the attack after police arrived.

He also cited poor lighting as a problem in the back area, particularly near the Dumpster, saying someone could hide there.

Star-Bulletin reporter Rob Shikina contributed to this report.