The victim of an alleged June 25 robbery testified in court Tuesday he was awakened while sleeping in his car by two men, one wielding a hatchet and the other armed with a knife.
The victim of an alleged June 25 robbery testified in court Tuesday he was awakened while sleeping in his car by two men, one wielding a hatchet and the other armed with a knife.
“One of them grabbed my phone; it was in front of me,” said Kevin Robey, a 25-year-old Hilo man. “And they, in a threatening manner, asked me if I had any money or anything else. And I threw 30-something dollars at ’em just to, you know, get rid of the situation.”
Robey identified the defendant, 39-year-old Jeramy Kamoe Hall, as the man holding the hatchet. Hall is charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree theft and unauthorized entry to a motor vehicle. No one else has been arrested or charged for the crime.
Robey said the alleged robbers “took my phone and left after that.” He said the phone, a new Samsung Galaxy S4, was “on the dash, next to the shifter thing,” and he threw the money on the passenger seat.
Robey described the other suspect as “pretty skinny.”
“I think he was bald or had a shaved head,” he said.
Robey said the hatchet was “probably about a foot long, the blade was about 3 or 4 inches and it has a wooden handle.”
Robey said he fell asleep at about 7:30 p.m. that evening while parked in a stall on Kekuanaoa Street by Hilo Shopping Center. He said the windows were down in his car because the power windows are malfunctioning. Police say the incident occurred at about 10:45 p.m.
According to Robey, he approached a man outside Island Naturals in the shopping center and asked if he had a phone he could use to call police. He said the man replied, “The store’s closed. Go find a pay phone.”
Asked why he gave the money to the alleged robbers, he replied, “I was just afraid. I didn’t want to get hurt, so I tried to comply so I didn’t get a physical reaction from them.”
Police arrested Hall outside Kadota Liquor on Hualalai Street at about 11:45 p.m. According to court documents, officers recovered the phone from Hall and found the hatchet at his feet.
Hilo District Judge Barbara Takase found probable cause to try Hall on the charges and set arraignment and plea for 8 a.m. July 20 before Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura.
First-degree robbery is a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment. Second-degree theft and unauthorized entry to a motor vehicle are Class C felonies, each carrying potential five-year prison terms.
Hall is in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in lieu of $14,000 bail.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.